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HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE 

WITH 

GUN AND GUIDE 







HE CAME WITH HEAD UP, A SUPEEB SIGHT. 



Hunting in the Jungle 



WITH GUN AND GUIDE 



AFTER LARGE GAME 



ADAPTED FROM " LES ANIMAUX SAUVAGES " BY 



WARREN F. KELLOGG 



./ 




ILLUSTRATED 



(^JUL i3 188S r 



/ 



BOSTON 

ESTES AND LAURIAT 

PUBLISHERS 



Copyright, 18S8, 
By Estes and Lauriat. 



^|2 



SEmbersttg '^Sress: 

John Wilson and Son, Cambridge. 



CONTENTS. 



Chapter PiGE 

t I. Off for the Jungle , , . . . 11 

II. I MEET Thursday 21 

III. My First Gorilla 31 

lY. Domesticating my Gorilla = 57 

V. Hunting Chimpanzees 72 

VI. I make the Acquaintance of the Orang-Outang . . 94 

VII. Still in Borneo 126 

VIII. Back to Africa 143 

IX. A Few Elephant Stories 179 

X. Hunting the Rhinoceros 209 

XI. Lions and Tigers 224 

XII. A Letter from the Niger 250 

XIII. Another of the Cat Family 267 

XIV. An American's Adventures 279 

XV. A Quick Trip through "the Bush" 312 



LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS. 



Page 
He came with Head up, a Superb Sight (see page 243) . Frontispiece 
The Blinding Lightning, at Quick-recurring Intervals, disclosed the 

Wild Scene around 15 

The Low Line of the African Shore 19 

A Family of Gorillas 25 

All Day long she grinds the Meal 29 

A Monkey, some Fowls, and a Bunch of Bananas 32 

An Enormous Gorilla rolling his Angry Eyes in every Direction . 37 

She sprang from her Shelter holding a Little Gorilla 40 

I aimed full at his Breast . . ' 43 

This Gorilla builds a Eude Hut 47 

The Guide, with a Triumphant Shout, seized the Little Gorilla by 

the Nape of the Neck 53 

Hunting a Gorilla 59 

A Struggle for Life 61 

Poor Joseph, his Head on my Knees 67 

I had the Body buried at the Foot of a Tree 70 

At the Door of his Aerial House stands the Chimpanzee ... 75 

It was mere Play for him to uncork a Bottle 84 

He helps himself to the Contents of the Natives' Calabashes . . 87 

An Orang-Outang 95 

A Dyak of Borneo 97 

They are very Careful of their Young 101 



Vlll LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page 

He took Eefuge between Two Branches of a Lofty Tree . . . . 103 

The Chinamen's Camp 105 

The Brute, although hadly wounded, wruld have been more than 

a Match for them 109 

I taught him to use a Spoon 112 

We were travelling through the Edge of a Great Swamp . . . 114 

"Crocodiles! Crocodiles!" 117 

We covered our Heads with Marsh Plants 120 

The Ci*ocodile lay on his Side on a Little Island 123 

The Gibbon, or Long-armed Ape 127 

Gentle Creatures climbing over the Ruins 129 

A Few Yards from the Tower a Magnificent Jaguar 133 

Offering the Best Fruits of the Land 137 

" I cannot afford to support them," he said 139 

Macaque Apes 141 

Searching for Elephants' Tusks in their Burial-Places 145 

Elephants impressed into the English Service 147 

Advance Guards, like Sentinels 151 

The Elephants' Burial-Place 155 

" It is a Female," whispered Thursday 159 

The Advance Guard appeared on the Edge of the Clearing . . . 162 

The Herd calmly turned their Backs and started for the Woods . 165 

"Look!" 171 

I seized the Branch, and began to crawl along it 175 

Piling them with the Greatest Regularity 181 

He held out his Wounded Foot for me to see 183 

Playing upon them like a Fire-Engine 187 

He sprang upon his Adversai'y's Head and held with Claws and 

Teeth 191 

He was past Control 196 

Over Two Hundred Native Devotees threw themselves beneath 

the White Elephant's Feet 199 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. ix 

Page 

He set out at a Tremendous Pace . 201 

The Elephant had an Inspiration 203 

The Skeletons of his Ancestors 205 

The Whalers often find them, coated with Ice 207 

The One-horned Rhinocei'os 210 

Before he can turn the Hunter buries a Spear in his Heart . . . 213 

The Ehinoceros fulfils the Mission of the Ox 215 

On the Back of the Female rested a Young One, Uglier, if possible, 

than its Fond Parents 217 

The Frenchman was belaboring his Head with an Oar . . . . 221 

Driving the Crocodiles into the Water 223 

He and his Suite applaud their Blood-thirsty Ferocity .... 225 

Hippopotami 228 

A Family of Tapirs 231 

Near her stood her Lover, cai'essing her 235 

We travelled at a Breakneck Pace . . 237 

He entered the Houses, and killed right and left 241 

In spite of their Struggles he carried One of them off ... . 245 

The Tiger strained its Jaws on this Man of Iron 248 

A Guepard, or Hunting Tiger 251 

Their Favorite Method of Attack 253 

Several sprang upon our Soldiers 257 

Before and behind him marched an Innumerable Train .... 260 

She fastened her Cruel Teeth and Claws deep in his Neck . . . 263 

The Jaguar peacefully engaged in Fishing 268 

One more Skilful than the Rest caught his Noose around his 

Hind Quarters 271 

Three Negroes lying in their Blood 275 

Twenty Arrows laid the Thief low 277 

The Bear in Captivity 280 

Seizing Two by the Nape of the Neck, I dropped them into a Bag 283 

Eating Stolen Sweets from my Host's Beehives 285 



X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page 

I aimed over a Crotch, and fired 287 

His Head wagging above them with Real Eloquence 291 

This was the Lad's Regular Couch 293 

My Hands trembled with Excitement 297 

On a Floating Cake of Ice, a Female and Two Stalwart Cubs . . 299 

The Bear made a Wild Leap upon the Nearest Canoe .... 303 

His Claws deep buried in his Victim's Neck 305 

JNIounting the Specimens 307 

A Glimpse into the Museum 309 

Australian Kangaroos 315 

By his Advice we left our Mustangs ....318 

It struggled to escape from my Hands 321 

I was urging on my Nag with Spur and Voice 324 

We prolonged our Lunch Hour 327 

He swung him round his Head several Times 331 

Quick as Thought he drew his Knife 335 

Leaving him, like Mazeppa, at the Beast's Mercy 337 

I found several Small Fish in his Stomach 339 



HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE 



WITH GUN AND GUIDE. 



CHAPTER I. 



OFF FOR THE JUNGLE. 




WAS young and fond of adventure, full of 
spirits and good health ; and when my friend 
the Captain offered me a bunk in his own 
cabin for an African voyage, I promptly gave up my 
desk and duties in a New York shipping-house, and 
accepted the invitation at once. It was a long voyage, 
but its tedium was relieved for me by an occasional 
shot at some bird lost in the desert of waters, or by 
the capture of an unwary shark or porpoise when a 
long calm gave the men the leisure to think of such 
sport. Then in the watches of the summer nights the 
Captain and I would pace the deck for hours, while he 
spun me yarns of shipwreck and adventure on every 
coast. He had been in the English service, on this 
very African station, when the energies of the Royal 



12 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

Navy were exerted against the slave-trade. His remi- 
niscences of this revolting business furnished matter for 
many exciting stories, of which " A Night on an 
African Cruiser " is a fair example. 

'' We were cruising off the mouth of the Congo, looking 
out for slavers, and as a pleasant change, in the middle of 
the rainy season, the night was starlight. The cheering 
cry of ' Sail ho ! ' aroused the slumbering watch of H. M. 
Brig ' Pantaloon,' of which I was first officer, and dispelled 
my half-waking dreams. Sending word to the captain, 
I made all sail on the ship, and in a few minutes our 
spars were covered with canvas and the brig gliding 
through the smooth water before the land-wind which 
had just sprung up. 

" Our men clustered forward eagerly trying to discover 
the chase, which as yet was visible to no eyes except 
those of the Krooman at the masthead who had first 
reported the strange sail. As a colored man's power of 
vision is generally superior at night to that of a white 
man, the suspense was endured for nearly a quarter of 
an hour, when the good faith of the lookout was verified, 
the strange sail being plainly visible from deck on the 
line of the horizon, and the distance between the ^ Panta- 
loon ' and her prey rapidly lessening. 

" ' Clear away the gun forward, and give her a blank 
cartridge ! ' was an order obeyed as soon as given. The 
long thirty-two pounder bellowed forth, and the flash 
lit up for a moment the excited faces grouped around. 



OFF FOR THE JUNGLE. 13 

As the report died away, all eyes were bent on the chase 
to see if she obeyed that authoritative signal to ' heave 
to ; ' but her white sails still gleamed in the moonlight, 
and she pursued her course regardless of the mandate. 
This perseverance in attempting to escape gave good 
assurance that we w^ere in pursuit of a slave-ship. Many 
of the crew began already in imagination to spend their 
prize-money ; the Kroomen especially were chuckling 
with delight, for the very day before, at their earnest 
request, the figure-head of the ' Pantaloon ' had had his 
spectacles repainted ' to make him see better.' 

'' The proverbial ' slip 'twixt the cup and the lip ' 
had, however, yet to be illustrated. The guns had been 
reloaded, this time with shot, and the gunner was stand- 
mg lanyard in hand awaiting the order to fire, when the 
captain's attention was attracted by the flapping of the 
sails — hitherto drawing full — against the masts. The 
land-wind had suddenly subsided, and a hot stifling 
calm succeeded. On looking round we discovered in one 
quarter of the horizon the small cloud, literally ' like a 
man's hand,' which to experienced eyes betokens the 
quick approach of a tornado. If one of these awful 
tropical storms should strike the ship while all sail was 
set, nothing but the loss of her masts could save her. 

■'^ No time now to think of anything but the safety of 
the ship. ' Hands shorten sail ! Quick, men ! quick, 
for your lives ! ' shouted the captain. The crew, aware 
of the danger, worked well. Sail after sail was taken in. 



14 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

until, instead of a cloud of canvas, the cruiser showed 
nothing aloft but the clear tracery of spars and rigging. 
In time, and only just in time, was the work finished, the 
ship made snug, and the men down from aloft. 

" Meanwhile the cloud had rapidly increased in volume 
until it overspread half the horizon, the remainder of the 
heavens being still bright and clear. The dead silence 
of expectation was broken by a low growl of thunder. 
One breath of wind, cold as from an ice-cave, passed over 
us ; a few big drops of rain splashed upon the deck ; then, 
with a mighty roar, lashing the water into foam, the tor- 
nado swept down upon us. 

"Notwithstanding all our precautions, the first shock 
threw the ' Pantaloon ' nearly on her beam-ends. For a 
full minute of painful suspense she remained in that 
position, then, suddenly righting, — all her timbers groan- 
ing, — she yielded to her helm and sped before the 
hurricane. 

" Immediate danger was now over, it being only neces- 
sary to keep the ship before the wind until the storm had 
passed over us. The officers, released from their deepest 
anxiety, were able to note — some even to enjoy — the 
magnificent spectacle of an African tornado. In that 
roaring wind and deafening thunder no man could hear 
his fellow speak, nor in the darkness see the rope to 
which he clung or the deck on which he stood, save 
when the blinding lightning at quick-recurring intervals 
disclosed the wild scene around him. 




THE BLINDING LIGHTNING AT QUICK-RECUKRING INTERVALS DISCLOSED 
THE WILD SCENE AROUND. 



OFF FOR THE JUNGLE. 17 

'' Two hours passed thus, and the fury of the gale beo'an 
to abate, when with a simultaneous crash of thunder the 
lightning struck our foremast. On reaching the deck, 
the electric fluid was first attracted by the chain cable, 
along which it ran hissing, until reaching the quarter- 
deck it leaped with a loud report to the nearest gun, 
flashing from gun to gun until it plunged into the sea 
astern, — the old helmsman, as it passed, ducking his 
head as he would to an enemy's shot. Happily no 
one was seriously hurt, althouy-h some men standino- 
around the mast were partially stunned. The thunder 
now ceased, and the wind fell. Quitting my station on 
the forecastle I joined the officers on the quarter-deck, 
where we congratulated ourselves that the elements had 
done their worst, and speculated on the chances of the 
morning light gladdening our eyes with a view of the lost 
slaver. In all probability, however, she had either been 
capsized or driven far beyond our reach. 

" In these southern latitudes no soft dawn intervenes 
between the blackest night and glaring, broiling day. No 
sooner did day break than all eyes were anxiously engaged 
sweeping the horizon in hopes of encountering the lost 
slaver. Fifty voices quickly exclaimed, "^ There she is ! ' 
and there, indeed, not two miles off, lay the luckless vessel 
that even the tornado had failed to save. The sea was 
calm ; not a ripple disturbed its glassy smoothness as it 
heaved genth^ in the long, low ground-swell. It was evi- 
dent to the crew of the slave-ship that no chance of escape 

2 



18 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

remained ; although armed they were no match for an 
English cruiser. Soon a Brazilian ensign fluttered up to 
her mast-head, waved there a moment, and then slowly 
and reluctantly descended in token of surrender. 

" Our boats, well manned and armed, pulled toward the 
prize, passing through some dozens of empty wine-bottles 
recently thrown overboard, showing that the slaver's crew 
had begun to drown their sorrows in the good liquor the 
cabin stores afforded, determined it should not be wasted 
on their captors. Lazily floating close to the vessel, show- 
ing too clearly the nature of her cargo, were several large 
sharks. Attracted by the scent, these monsters of the 
deep follow in the wake of slave-ships, accompanying them 
across the Atlantic, and becoming the floating graves of 
many a victim to the horrors of the voyage. 

" On boarding the prize, she proved to be the ' Aven- 
tureiro,' a fine yacht-like schooner carrying one long 
swivel-gun amidships. There was small need to inquire 
of her sullen commander whether the cargo was lawful or 
contraband, and our sailors at once proceeded to open the 
hatches. On removing the close coverings a dense steam- 
ing mist of foul air ascended from the slave-deck below ; 
and three hundred unhappy beings of both sexes were dis- 
covered lying down, their feet manacled to long iron bars 
placed fore and aft through the ship. From this piteous, 
writhing mass of humanity arose strange cries and shouts 
of joy when their irons were struck off, and the fact of 
their deliverance began to dawn upon their minds. The 



OFF FOR THE JUNGLE. 



19 



crew of the slaver, twenty-four all told, were transferred 
to the '■ Pantaloon/ and a lieutenant and prize crew were 
detailed to convey the schooner to Sierra Leone. Before 
parting company, however, an exciting scene of plunder 
was enacted, officers and sailors keenly searching after 
comestibles which — although articles of daily food on 




THE LOW LINE OF THE AFRICAN SHORE. 



shore — were luxuries to men shut up for months in an 
African cruiser. 

" Tins of preserved meats, sardines, potted salmon, and 
lobster ; boxes of sugar, raisins, butter, wine, and ale re- 
warded the laughing plunderers, and were passed into 
the ship under the very eyes of the slave-captain. Soon, 
however, his face cleared up and he puffed his paper 
cheroot with calmness, consoled, doubtless, by the recol- 



20 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

lection of former successful trips ; for slave-traders con- 
fess that if one vessel out of four escapes they are amply 
repaid. 

" And now, all arrangements being complete, the ^ Aven- 
tureiro,' with England's flag at the peak, bore away to the 
westward, while the ' Pantaloon ' once more turned toward 
her cruising ground." 

With tales like this my friend the Captain beguiled the 
voyage, so that I was almost sorry late one bright after- 
noon to see tlie low line of the African shore, and later 
to cast anchor in the harljor of Sierra Leone, 



CHAPTER TI. 



I MEET THURSDAY 




HAD a lot.ter of credit on a trader in tlio town, 
and at our iirst interview told liirn of my in- 
tention of passing five or six months in the 
interior to complete my natural history collections. He 
promised to get me a guide on whose faithfulness I 
might rely. And sure enough, a few days later he sent 
me a strapping great fellow as black as the ace of 
spades. He bore the euphonious name of N'Otooue, and 
agreed, for the modest sum of ten cents per day, to guide 
me through forest, jungle, and swamp as far, if I liked, 
as the Mozambique coast line ! Life was too short to 
make use of a name like his ; and bearing in mind Robin- 
son Crusoe's admirable example and the day on which 
N'Otooue was presented to me, I nicknamed him Thurs- 
day, — a title in which he learned to feel the greatest 
pride after I had told him of great Thor's warlike attri- 
butes. As Thursday, therefore, he will appear in future 
in these pages. He talked English a little, and that was 
a great thing for me, for it would allow me to enjoy the 
stories he would be sure to tell, — his countrymen being 



22 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

all natural racoiitears. Besides, I much preferred not to 
be obliged to use the decidedly unsatisfactory language of 
signs with a man with whom I was to live some months. 

" He is everything desirable," my banker said. " I have 
known him the last ten years, during which he has come 
to barter ivory and skins with me, and he will not dare, 
if only on business policy, to play you any very bad trick. 
He is a liar, a thief, a bully, and a drunkard, like all of 
them; but aside from that," with a smile, "you may 
depend upon him." 

The portrait of the illustrious Thursday is a simple 
matter, for the trader had faithfully outlined his moral 
nature in his " recommendation." Physically he was a 
tall, well-built fellow with tightly curling hair, his teeth 
filed to a point, which gave him a singularly ferocious 
appearance closely resembling a shark. He was dressed 
in a belt, from which in front hung a leopard's skin, 
while across his back were slung a single-barrelled gun 
and a great iron-wood bow over six feet long. Through 
his belt was stuck an English axe, of which he was very 
proud, and in the use of which he was extremely clever. 

He belonged to the cannibal race of Fans, which for 
the last fifty years have little by little overrun the west 
coast of Africa without any one knowing from what part 
of the interior they come. Thursday pretended he had 
become quite civilized by his intercourse with the whites, 
and that he no longer ate human flesh, — leaving that, as 
he said, " to the poor blacks who," with a superb ges- 



/ MEET THURSDAY. 23 

tiire, " were not in the habit of living among the officers 
and traders." If his own stories were to be believed he 
was one of the most skilful elephant hunters in the neigli- 
borhood, and, in fact, he had come almost daily to the 
trading posts to barter ivory tusks. 

Around his neck he wore a string of charms — tigers' 
and alligators' teeth and bits of stags' antlers — to pre- 
serve him from fever, accidents, bad luck, and the bite of 
snakes. He offered me several, urging me especially to 
accept one that would protect me from evil spirits. At 
first I laughed at him, but finding this offended him I 
took his panther's tooth and put it in my pocket, where- 
upon he seemed satisfied. 

His wife, who accompanied him, w^ore even less, if pos- 
sible, than himself. She was a gentle, submissive crea- 
ture, who carried our drinking water and, aided by her 
son, a good-looking lad of ten or a dozen years of age, 
prepared our meals. 

As you see, our little caravan was lightly loaded and 
few in numbers, which is, I think, the only way to travel 
in equatorial x\frica, where it is impossible to make two 
negroes agree for more than a week, unless to rob and 
abandon you some fine night in the midst of the forest. 
I was not afraid of this fate myself, although it has hap- 
pened to so many explorers, for I intended to go inland 
not further than forty or fifty leagues. At that distance 
the traders almost always ultimately learn the fate of 
any missing European, and there are plenty of ways to 



24 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

avenge their murder. The traders' own personal safety 
demands that the white man's life shall not be at the 
mercy of every black devil who covets his arms or his 
blanket. 

I had no desire to solve any knotty questions of physi- 
cal geography, nor to cross the continent from sea to sea. 
My wishes were much more modest, namely, — to collect 
specimens of all the varieties of apes in the country, es- 
pecially of the gorilla, shooting them myself. 

The evening of the very day of our departure, when we 
had pitched our camp in a little negro village, where the 
chiefs had placed huts at our disposal, I told Thursday 
my plan of hunting the " man-eater." . He seemed a trifle 
astonished, but casting a glance at my rifle, which carries 
an explosive ball whose terrible effect he had seen that 
very afternoon on a hare that I had literally torn to 
pieces, he replied that nothing was easier, and that he 
would guide me to their favorite haunts. 

The chiefs of the village were seated in a circle around 
us, and when my guide explained my project to them they 
all began to jabber and gesticulate at a tremendous rate. 
At my request, Thursday translated with great volubility 
a series of adventures with this curious animal so remark- 
able that only a negro imagination could invent such 
tales. For instance, they believe that the "man-eater" 
is not always an animal like other apes, but that he 
is possessed by the spirit of some native who, for his 
evil ways, is condemned to return to this world in the 




A FAMILY OF GORILLAS. 



/ MEET THURSDAY. 27 

monster's body before being admitted to the liappy hunt- 
ing grounds. These " haunted " gorillas, besides enor- 
mous strength, have intelligence as great as man's. They 
can neither be caught nor killed ; they are invulnerable, 
even the balls from the white man's rifle flattening them- 
selves upon them, - — not because their hides are any 
tougher than the others, but because they are jDrotected 
by a mysterious charm. According to these trustworthy 
accounts some poor woman is compelled to act as com- 
panion and servant to these fearful brutes. All day long 
she grinds the meal, grates the cassava, and prepares the 
food for her master. Should she endeavor to esca|)e she 
is immediately torn to pieces ; and that is the reason, so 
these imperturbable liars assert, that not one of them has 
ever been seen to come back. 

I should never end were I to tell you all the stories I 
heard that night, for, spurred on by Thursday, each man 
present wished to add his experience with haunted goril- 
las to the general testimony. T have told enough to show 
the character of the people among whom I was. Given 
two possible explanations of an occurrence, one simple 
and the other of a marvellous nature, the negro will 
choose the latter every time, not from a desire to deceive 
but simply to gratify his vivid imagination. So you see 
a traveller must take their statements, even on subjects 
pertaining to their own country, wdiich they ought to 
know best, with a very large grain of salt. 

In spite of my wish to bring the conversation round to 



28 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

the habits of the gorilla that I intended to hunt, on this 
my first night in camp I could not lead the negroes away 
from the attractive subject of haunted gorillas, and the 
lono- evenins; was filled with tales of them alone. Wearied 
with my useless efforts, I threw myself on a mat in the 
chief's hut and was soon fast asleep, lulled by the voices 
of the natives, who continued their endless stories till 
after midniQ!:ht. 




ALL DAY LONG SHE GRINDS THE MEAL. 



CHAPTER III. 



MY FIRST GORILLA. 




T daybreak Thursday aroused me, and after a 
cup of black coffee, prepared by his wife, we 
took up our march througli a vast plain, 
broken here and there by clumps of palms lifting their 
tall heads amidst fields of maize and corn. Throug;h 
the foliage we caught glimpses of hazy mountains far 
away on the horizon. My guide said they were wooded 
hills, the haunt of gorillas and elephants, where he had 
always found plenty of game. 

Nothing can be more lovely than the African forests 
early in the morning. We were threading narrow trails, 
hardly disturbed by the bare feet of the native hunters, 
between endless hedges of banana and young palm trees 
covered with their golden and savory fruit ; while be- 
tween their trunks we could see long stretches of green, 
wavy grass, soft as velvet in the morning light. 

Soon the cultivation ceased, and the land for miles was 
covered with pepper-plant and flowering tulip, filled with 
brilliant paroquets that flew away with sharp notes at 
our approach. On all sides of us, and within a space a 



32 



HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 



few hundred yards square, were all the most singular 
tropical varieties of the equatorial flora. If I had fol- 
lowed simply my tastes I should innnediately have given 




A MONKEY, SOME FOWLS, AND A BUNCH OF BANANAS. 

up my plans for hunting and have remained in this bot- 
anists' paradise adding to my herbarium. But — I was 
equipped with rifles and cartridges, and it was too late to 
alter the object of my journey. 



MY FIRST GORILLA. 3S 

We camped that evening in another native village, and 
the next morning really entered the unbroken forest. It 
was now necessary to observe the greatest caution, as at 
any moment we might meet a tiger, a panther, or a gorilla. 

However, before night we arrived without adventure 
of any kind at the Fan village whence Thursday came. 
The chief, to whom he introduced me, shook hands with 
me in the European fashion and asked me if I had not a 
present for him ! This was a sure sign that civilization 
had reached as far as this town, at least. I gave him an 
old pistol, at which he seemed greatly pleased, and told 
him I had come to shoot a "man-eater." He promised to 
go with us the next morning, and then invited me to a 
feast at which a monkey, some fowls, and a bunch of 
bananas cooked in the ashes composed the bill of fare. 
The monkey was not at all to my taste, and I confined 
myself to the other dainties ; but the Fans devoured in 
an instant all that I left. 

We started early, the chief and Thursday leading us up 
a narrow valley in which, they both agreed, gorillas were 
sure to be found. 

" Have you ever shot a gorilla ? " asked the chief, turn- 
ing to me as we walked along. 

" No, never," I replied. 

" Then I will give you a bit of advice," said he. " Which 
gun are you going to use ? " 

"This" — pointing to my rifle — "is my favorite, for 
although the other is double-barrelled, this one is much 



34 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

more effective, for it carries an explosive ball. A wound 
from it is always fatal." 

'' The white man is helped by the Great Spirit, who 
shows him new ways of killing." 

"I will show you its merits at the first opportunity," I 
said. 

" Every white man has his fetich who aids him to do 
wonders ; but he can do nothing against the ' man-eater ' 
unless the black men help him." 

"' Quite true," I said ; " we could do nothing without 
you." 

The chief, at these words, threw back his head and 
glanced with jDi'ide at his followers, for his vanity was 
pleased. 

" Listen," he said after a moment. " As you have 
never hunted the gorilla, I will speak words of wisdom 
to you." 

"Believe me, I will give it my best attention, chief." 

" It is not difficult to kill a gorilla. One bullet in his 
breast, and he is dead." 

" So I have already heard ; but I am very glad to have 
this confirmation of it from an authority and a great 
chief." 

The old man looked at me with intense satisfaction. 
With these few words I had made a friend forever. 

" But you must not miss him," he continued, " for he 
will not give you a second chance." 

"That's so," said my guide, as he translated this. 



MY FIRST GORILLA. 35 

"You could not get your second gun from the boy before 
he would be upon you, and you would be crushed to a 

jelly." 

A.t that moment the wdiole line, as if instinctively, 
came to a halt. The native guide leading. us gave a 
sii>;nal as ag-reed. 
■ ^'In which direction?" the chief signed. 

The guide pointed ahead of us, a little to the right, 
toward a clump of tall trees. 

" Wait for me here," said the chief, with that sharp 
tone of command which he knew so well how to assume 
toward his men. Then, turning to me, — 

" Let the white captain follow me." 

No sooner had my interpreter translated this to me 
than the chief dropped on all fours and began to crawl 
in the direction the scout had indicated. I followed suit, 
feelino; that I was on the eve of a new and exciting; 
experience. 

For five minutes, that seemed an age, I saw the chief 
moving slowly without the least noise, parting the under- 
brush with his hands, and holding it one side until I too 
had passed. Suddenly he stopped, half raised himself, 
and seemed to centre all his attention on a point in space 
beyond the close curtain of foliage in front of us. My 
heart beat in great throbs. Finally he made me a sign to 
approach, and I, in turn, cast a rapid glance through the 
forest. I felt my hair stand on end as, at the end of a 
little clearing, I saw seated on a leafy hut an enormous 



36 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

gorilla, sniffing the air and rolling his angry eyes in 
every direction. 

It was my first sight of this curious and terrible 
animal, — the main cause of my journey and explorations. 
You would have said that he scented the danger, for 
his eyes searched the leafy screen behind which we were 
crouching with a singularly ferocious glance that clearly 
showed he did not for an instant mistake the direction 
from whicli his enemy was coming. 

The old chief, used as he was to this sight, took it 
coolly enough ; but a profound astonishment, coupled 
with a certain kind of terror, literally transfixed me 
to the spot. I did not expect to see an animal of 
such terrible proportions and ferocit}^, and it was one 
of the rarest experiences of my long life of travel 
and adventure to find the reality far exceed my wildest 
imagination. 

Erect, his head thrust forward, beating his chest with 
his long arms, he gave three mighty roars, in Avhich that 
tone peculiar to wild beasts was curiously mingled with a 
human cry that might have come from one of our own 
throats. Then he uttered a series of growls, deep and 
heavy, louder at first, running down the scale, and dimin- 
ishing in volume like a clap of thunder rolling away in 
the distance. 

Suddenly the shrill note of a paroquet sounded near 
us. The gorilla stopped short in astonishment. Instinc- 
tively I raised my head to see on which branch this daring 




AN ENORMOUS GORILLA, ROLLING HIS ANGRY EYES IN EVERY DIRECTION. 



MY FIRST GORILLA. 39 

bird was perched. I saw nothing ; but when the note 
was repeated, I reahzed that I had been deceived by an 
admirable imitation, and that the old chief had used this 
signal to call his hunters around us again. 

However skilful the Fan chief was in cheating me, he 
evidently had not deceived the gorilla, for his fury re- 
doubled. At this instant the natives joined us, crawling 
through the dense undergrowth as we had done. 

" Chief," said Thursday, in a whisper so low it hardly 
reached me, " the brute has already detected us." 

" How do you know that ? " said I, softly. 

"Look!" he replied; "his nostrils quiver with anger 
as he scents us, and his cruel eye never leaves oar 
shelter." 

" Then why does he not attack us ? Is he afraid ? " 

" Fear ! The man-eater ? You '11 not believe that 
long." 

"Why does he wait, either to run or fight?" As I 
whispered these words the old chief made me a sign, 
urging me to silence. The furious cries and roars of the 
gorilla grew louder and fiercer. It was plain, even to so 
inexperienced a hunter as myself, that something unusual 
was about to happen. The monster gnashed his tremen- 
dous teeth, shaking with rage, but did not leave his 
hut-roof. For the twentieth time I asked myself the 
double question, " Why do we not give him a shot, or 
why does he not get away from us?" A dozen times I 
raised my rifle, — the one carrying the explosive ball, — 



40 



HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 



and a dozen times the chief threw up the barrel. I did 
not have to wait long for a solution of the mystery. As 
I was watching our enemy with the closest attention. 




SHE SPRANG FROM HER SHELTER HOLDING A LITTLE GORILLA. 



fascinated by the strange sight, Thursday made me a 
sign to look lower. I obeyed mechanically, and saw, with 
a shudder of horror, a second gorilla's head emerging 
from the foliasce which shaded the hut. 



iMY FIRST GORILLA. 41 

" That is the female," said Thursday. " Now you see 
why the gorilla did not attack us. He is in a tremen- 
dous rage because, in spite of his repeated calls, he cannot 
make his companion listen." 

''■ What does he want ? " 

•' He wants to see her safe in the forest, and then he 
will come and settle his account with us. But she is 
undoubtedly suckling her young, and does not wish to 
come from her retreat, especially without knowing exactly 
which way to turn to put her offspnng in safety." 

In a few moments she seemed to decide, for with a 
single bound she sprang from her shelter holding a little 
gorilla, hardly more than a few days old, in her arms. 
Evidently the little animal had been the cause of her hesi- 
tation and delay. Her remarkable intelligence showed 
her almost instantly on which side the danger lay, and 
facing round, she sprang into the forest without a cry. 

Her departure was saluted by a roar from the male 
more terrible even than its predecessors. I felt my hair 
stand on end, as it well might before so remarkable a 
sight. 

At a word from the chief, Thursday said, " Do you 
want to kill him ? " 

I made a quick gesture of assent. 

" Then," said he, with a glance at the chief, " we must 
show ourselves at once, or he will escape." 

We stepped quickly out into the clearing toward the 
brute, who stopped on seeing us coming. 



42 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

"Don't shoot until I give the word," whispered the 
chief. It was not a time to dispute such a singular com- 
mand, so I merely waited with my gun ready. 

The monster was about fifty paces in front of us, and I 
could easily have shot him where he stood, but resisted 
tlie temptation. Whenever I have hunted in Africa witli 
the native chiefs I have always made it a rule to follow 
their suggestions implicitly, — with due regard, of course, 
to my own personal safety. You can be pretty sure that 
these men, used as they are to the wild beasts in their 
forests, will not give unnecessary advice ; and I have 
always found it paid in the end. 

The gorilla had dropped upon all fours, — the attitude 
in which he travels most easily, — but sight of us re- 
newed liis fury in an instant. He stood erect on his long 
limbs, and with a roar that shook the forest, advanced 
slowly, but without hesitation, toward us, beating his 
breast with his arms. This seemed a favorite gesture 
with him, for in the ten minutes we had been watching 
him he had three times made use of it. I cannot better 
describe the noise accompanying it than to compare it to 
the native tam-tams, as played in the funeral processions. 
He struck his chest tremendous blows in a rhythmical way, 
broken by perfect roulades of roars, and his eyes flashed 
fire. The chief made me a courteous sign that he gave 
me the first shot ; and Thursday, translating, said : 
'•'• Wait until he has passed the trunk of that palm ; and 
aljove all, do not miss him ! " 



MY FIRST GORILLA. 



43 



The tree lie meant was not more than twenty paces 
from us. I raised my rifle carefully; the gorilla was 
approaching us. I aimed full at his breast ; he had 




I AIMED FULL AT HIS BREAST. 



hardly crossed the line when my rifle-shot rang through 
the forest, and the huge brute fell without a cry. 
The report had been deafening. I sprang forward to 



44 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

see the effect of the explosive ball, but Thursday held me 
back. 

'' Look out," he cried ; " he may yet have some life in 
him ; and one blow from his talon-like fingers would lay 
3'ou open like a squirrel." 

The advice was too good to be disregarded, though 
from my experience in shooting with this terrible form of 
ammunition I felt sure he was dead ; for I never have 
seen an animal live if the ball once reaches him. And 
indeed this case proved no exception ; the gorilla was 
dead. 

When the natives saw the terrible wound which he had 
received, they looked at my rifle with frightened glances, 
and began to whisper together. . 

" What do they say ? " I asked Thursday. 

'-^ That they would give twelve slaves for such an arm." 

Such envy did not please me at all. How many trav- 
ellers have been killed in Central Africa precisely on 
account of their too tempting fire-arms ! I immediately 
hit upon a device to protect at once my rifle and myself. 
I happened to have in my belt a line of empty cartridges 
to be used for small game, and to be loaded with what- 
ever charge of powder and ball the animal I was after re- 
quired. I loaded my rifle rather ostentatiously with one 
of these cartridges, capped only, and handing it to the 
chief himself, I stepped about a yard from the end of the 
barrel and asked him to fire at me, aiming at my heart. 
As he hesitated, I said to him : " Do as I bid, for the rifle 



MY FIRST GORILLA. 45 

cannot harm me ; it is a fetich, and only kills in my 
hands." 

I fancy Thursday translated this literally, for the old 
chief raised the rifle at once and pulled the trigger. 
There was the faint report of the cap, and that was all. 
M'Yenga returned the rifle hastily; and he and the other 
natives, as if fearful lest some of its evil influence should 
affect them, moved off to a respectful distance. Super- 
stition has such a hold on this people that not one of 
them would have accepted as a gift the gun that a mo- 
ment before they all coveted. I was safe on that score. 

On measuring the gorilla, we found his waist nearly 
two yards in circumference, proving him to be one of the 
largest of his species. I asked Thursday why the chief 
had not allowed me to shoot the female, leaving the 
hunters to fire simultaneously upon the male, so that 
we might take the little one alive and try to bring 
it up on cow's milk and make our first experiment in 
domesticating the gorilla. Of course I said nothing to 
them about the scientific interest in such an experiment, 
for science was a dead letter to them ; but I promised a 
liberal reward to any one who should bring me a young 
gorilla alive. They all assured me that that was easy 
enough, but that without its mother it could not live 
more than three or four days ; that the leopard or tiger 
could be tamed, but never the gorilla, etc. ; but it all 
seemed hearsay, and not one of the hunters spoke from 
personal experience. Thursday explained that if I had 



46 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

aimed at and missed the female we should have had two 
gorillas instead of one to fight, and that there would 
have certamly been a loss of life ; and that he could get 
me a young gorilla inunediatehj. He failed to fulfil this 
promise, however, for it is not at all easy to get one of 
these young animals, whom the parents defend fiercely 
widi their lives. Chance, often more to be depended on 
than the most persistent efforts, brought about my wish, 
but long after this first hunt, which proved conclusively 
that this species of gorilla builds a rude hut, and that the 
male, when it shelters his offspring, sits like a sentinel 
upon its roof to watch over his young. It also seemed 
settled be3ond a doubt, from what I was told and had 
myself seen, that the gorilla attacks man without hesita- 
tion at sight and without waiting to be womided, while 
the female attends ' entirely to the safety of her young 
without a thought of fighting. 

We camped a whole da}' here for me to preserve and 
mount the gorilla's head. The natives divided the flesh 
among; themselves, broiling it over the hot coals and 
eating it half raw. Try as I would, for I should have 
been glad to learn the taste of this singular meat, I could 
not overcome my repugnance to this half-human flesh. 
The brain was not eaten, but carefully wrapped in banana 
leaf and sent back to the medicine-men of the village, who 
make from it, the old chief informed me, a magic oint- 
ment of most marvellous virtue to protect from all evil, 
especially from the evil influence of the man-eater. I 




Tins GORILLA BUILDS A KVDF, HUT. 



MY FIRST GORILLA. 49 

looked him square in the face. The old hypocrite never 
winced, and ended liis remarks with a fresh demand for 
rum, of which I gave him a very modest amount, dividing 
what was left in my flask between him and Thursday. 

The first gorilla had fallen ; the chief had fulfilled his 
promise ; and nothing remained but to return to the vil- 
lage and end the chase. I made the chief the presents 
I had agreed to, adding a little keg of rum for the other 
natives who had accompanied me, and I stayed with 
them a week. When I had made up my mind to depart 
the chiefs collected to bid me farewell ; and then came a 
ceremony which, among the Fans, celebrates the adop- 
tion of a stranger by the tribe. The old chief held my 
arm, and pricking it lightly with a thorn, drew a drop 
of blood. He then did the same to his own ; whereupon 
another chief took these two drops of blood upon two 
little reeds and transferred them, his to mine and mine 
to his arm. " Now," said the chief, " you are their 
white brother, for you have become my son. Wherever 
you may travel among the Fan tribes you w^ill be re- 
ceived as one of us." Among all peoples of a rude de- 
gree of civilization this queer custom of adoption exists, 
with different ceremonies but the same general idea; and 
it appears even later among more civilized races in the 
gift of the freedom of the city. There is no longer an 
interchange of blood, but it is still the adoption of a 
stranger. I have already alluded to the fact that, dur- 
ing my stay in the village, although all the hunters 



50 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

endeavored to obtain my offered reward, not one was 
able to catch a young gorilla for me, and that it was to 
chance I finally owed the possession of one. 

On leaving my Fan friends I had told Thursday of my 
plan to travel toward the river Rembo, striking it about 
the spot where, making a sudden turn at right angles, it 
flows swiftly northward and, fifty or sixty miles away, 
plunges into the sea. I had been told that this country 
was full of gorillas and every variety of monkey. As the 
neighborhood of the coast was unhealthy, because of the 
large number of marshes there, we turned east and jour- 
neyed through higher wooded lands. These forests are 
the haunts of numerous small game, — deer, hare, and 
wild fowl, — in such numbers that it precluded the danger 
of hunger. 

Five days after my departure we had struck the light 
tent that I always used in the woods, — for nothing is more 
unhealthy than the night dews in the African forests, — 
and I was walking ahead talking with Thursday ; behind 
us came his wife and boy, and, behind them, my five 
porters, humming an air in their nasal tones in time to 
their step, like sailors who join in a refrain as they 
stamp round the capstan. Suddenly Thursday stopped, 
making us a sign to do the same. I was carrying my 
rifle on my shoulder, but as quick as thought I dropped 
the barrel into my left hand and stood ready. It does 
not do ever to be surprised in these woods, and a second's 
hesitation often costs dear. 



MF FIRST GORILLA. 51 

" What is it ? " said I, quickly. 

" Did you not hear that cry ? " 

"Well?" 

"It was that of a young gorilla calling its dam." 

" Are you sure ? " 

" Perfectly. Be ready to shoot. Either the old gorilla 
is too far away to hear, or she does not suspect our 
presence. I hear no rustling of the leaves. Come, but 
be careful." We two had advanced hardly breathing. A 
second cry, a little ahead of us, pierced the silence of the 
forest. I was so excited that it seemed as though my 
heart beat audibly. Thursday still preceded me. Sud- 
denly I heard him pronounce the two words, '• Look 
out ! " and I saw him raise his gun quickly and fire, 
and before I had time to turn round, a shiny black 
mass covered with blood hurled itself upon my guide. 
Quick as thought I drew my revolver and blew the 
gorilla's brains out at the instant when he was about to 
garrote poor Thursday. 

The guide, who was not hurt, with the exception of a 
few scratches on his shoulder, had sprung up and, with a 
triumphant shout, seized a little gorilla by the nape of 
the neck and handed it to me. Imagine my pleasure, for 
I had almost given up hope of ever getting a really young 
gorilla alive. I could not resist reproving Thursday, 
however, telling him that he had run a great risk; for had 
I not been within five feet of him I could never have 
made my prompt shot before the gorilla would have 



52 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

twisted liis neck for him. I was so excited that I should 
have quite forgotten to thank Thursday for having thus 
in cold blood risked his life to satisfy a wish which to 
him must have seemed a mere whim, when he recalled 
me to the situation by saying quietly, — 

" The white captain is good ; he will give his slave the 
reward, as agreed." 

" What reward ? " cried I, in astonishment. 

" Did not the captain promise the Fans that he would 
give a double-barrelled hunting-gun and a keg of rum to 
any one of them bringing him a young man-eater ? " 

"Yes." 

" Well, Thursday is a Fan, and has- brought you such a 
prize." 

" And you ask me to pay you, therefore — " 

" What you promised." 

" All right, so be it. I prefer a business view of it 
myself. Here are the gun and proper ammunition, for of 
course they go together ; but I do not propose to give 
you all the rum at once." 

" The white chief is generous and great, but why 
not?" 

" Because you are in my service, engaged for the entire 
trip, and I don't propose to have you drunk or your 
faculties muddled for the next week or so, as you know 
you would be. If you like, however, I will give you a 
glass every day until you have had the whole keg. If 
you don't like this plan, I will, instead, give you the 




THE GUIDE, WITH A TKIUMPHANT SHOUT, SEIZED THE LITTLE GOKILLA BY 
THE NAPE OF THE NECK. 



MY FIRST GORILLA. 55 

entire keg when we reach Cape Lopez at the end of the 
trip. 

" I prefer the latter," he decided. 

I was afraid for a moment that this might set discon- 
tent at work in the African's head. But I was mistaken, 
quite. The African does nothing for nothing. He has 
no idea of devotion in putting himself into danger ; he 
simply wishes to get a keg of fire-water upon which to 
become drunk at his leisure ; and Thursday appreciated 
my right to his entire energy and wit to guide our 
little caravan through a country where danger is the 
rule. 

At last I had my young gorilla ; and I began at once his 
education by whipping him gently with a bit of banyan 
wood, which frightened him so that he left off biting at 
me immediately ! 

I could not carry out my experiments while we were on 
the march, so I decided to camp a few days in the first 
village we came to, which happened to be Stromb}^ a 
rather important town twenty-five or thirty kilometres 
east of Rembo. The king of the country had already 
met a number of white traders who had come thither 
for ivory ; and he received me in a most friendly manner, 
and announced to his subjects assembled that I was " his 
brother " and was to be respected as such. This done, he 
gave me his hand, which is a sign not to be misunder- 
stood, as it stands for the same thing in ever}' countrv of 
whatever deo:ree of civilization under the sun. 



56 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

T presented him with a revolver and a music-box, and 
although he was pleased with the former, the latter de- 
lighted his soul. Tying it round his neck he went up 
and down through the village turning the crank and 
followed by a wondering crowd of his subjects of both 
sexes, uttering cries of astonishment and pleasure. Hav- 
ing thus assured my position and treatment in the village 
I could turn my attention to attempts at civilizing my 
ugly pet. 



mm 
mm 



CHAPTER IV. 

DOMESTICATING MY GORILLA. 

HAD my men build a strong cage of bamboo, 
and in it I put the little beggar on a bed of 
dried leaves. This was no easy job, for, his 
first fright over, the fierce little brute distributed right 
and left cuffs and bites, until the ingenious Thursday 
hit on a way of somewhat disarming him. While two 
men held him down and a third pinioned his head in 
a crotch, Thursday cut his claws short. His teeth were 
now his only weapons of attack ; but of these he made 
right good use, as many of the men's legs and arms can 
testify. 

Thursday thinking it necessary to name him, I selected 
"Joseph," by antithesis ; for the great men in history who 
have borne this name have been models of gentleness, and 
my young friend could hardly be said to follow their illus- 
trious example. During the first days of his captivity I 
gave him the purest water, the finest bananas, fragrant 
leaves, and pineapples. But in vain ; he would touch 
nothing. But one fine morning I found that his supply 
of food had been materially reduced and that his water- 
butt was empty. Hunger had evidently got the better 



58 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

of his obstinacy, and I thought it an opportune moment 
to begin to accustom him to my presence and voice. 

When he saw me he drew back into the furthest corner 
of his cage growling and showing his teeth; and when 
I went round the outside of his prison, every time that I 
came near him he would spring across to the other side, 
and if I put my hand between the bars to stroke him he 
darted with open mouth at it, and I had just time to 
withdraw it quickly to avoid his terrible fangs. 

In spite of his youth his set of teeth was complete, and 
he only lacked strength of jaw to be dangerous. One 
morning, while trying to escape, — an attempt which he 
made whenever the cage was opened, — he bit a piece out 
of a man's shoulder, wounding him severely. 

He never ate except at night ; and finding I was ac- 
complishing nothing, and not wishing to end my days at 
Stromby, I decided to change my tactics and try starva- 
tion. When I saw he was growing thin with hunger I 
again approached him with bits of wild sugar-cane and 
young pineapple plants, of which I had noticed he was 
exceedingly fond. He watched me, growling as before, 
but I noticed he glanced with a certain longing at the 
fruit I offered him, and I felt confident of final success. 
Sure enough, after several hours of repeating this offer 
Joseph came softly to the end of the cage where I stood, 
put his arm outside, and grabbed a piece of sugar-cane, 
retiring immediately to the other side, where he ate it. 
The next day he satisfied his hunger, taking everything 



DOMESTICATING MY GORILLA. 



59 



that I offered liiiii direct from my hand, but not allowing 
me to touch him any more than on the previous days. 
Wishing to pass my hand along the tawny hair of his 




HUNTING A GORILLA. 



back, he made a vicious bite at my hand which I only just 
escaped. And this was all I could obtain. As long as I 
had food for him he would remain near, but when I had 



60 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

nothing further to offer him he drew back growling cand 
making fearful faces. 

One day, while they were changing his bed, he sprang 
upon the negro as he opened the cage, bit him cruelly, 
and darted out. I saw it all, but it happened so quickly 
that I had no time to interfere, while Joseph made tracks 
for the woods. I set up a shout ; and the natives, armed 
with stones and javelins, arranged themselves in line 
across his way. When he saw he could not get through, 
he made a dash for a lofty tree which shot its straight 
trunk ninety feet into the air, and began to climb it, — 
with less agility than he would have displayed if Thursday 
had not cut his claws, but still quickly enough to be out of 
reach before the natives could get to the foot of the tree. 
I watched him go up, not without a certain amount of 
curiosity, as from time to time he stopped to growl at us 
and then, with a defiant glance, go on. When he reached 
the top of the tree he hid in the clump of foliage that 
crowned it, and gave no sign of life. One of the natives 
offered, for a small reward, to go up after him ; and as I 
had not yet given up all hope of success, I promised it 
him. The negro began to climb, slowly enough, the slip- 
pery trunk, and all went well for the first half of the way. 
Round his waist he carried one of my fish-nets, which, 
when he reached the top, he thought he could easily 
throw over the gorilla, and catch him without serious 
risk to himself. When he had climbed a little over half 
way up, we saw the young gorilla come out of his hiding- 




A STKUGGLE i'OE. LIFE. 



DOMESTICATING MY GORILLA. 63 

place, and leaning far out and holding on by a branch, 
watch the movements of his advancing enemy. The 
sight was an odd one, and, as I heard Joseph's furiously 
rumbling growls I began to see that the negro had un- 
dertaken no easy task. At a given moment he received 
about his head and shoulders all the fruit that master 
Joseph could pluck from the tree, which in a few mo- 
ments he had completely despoiled, leaving himself with- 
out further ammunition. The native had dodged a large 
part of the missiles by circling the tree, and as most of 
the fruit was overripe, he suffered but little damage. 
When the gorilla could find nothing further to throw he 
again took refuge in the leafy top, uttering cries of rage 
which promised a warm reception to his pursuer when 
the latter should come within reach of his sharp teeth. 
The native moved cautiously upward, for he was within 
a few feet of the swaying top, and the gorilla had shown 
no sign. It was at once exciting and amusing. The 
gorilla might spring upon his enemy, who, under the 
shock and pain from a bite, might lose his hold and come 
toppling down a hundred feet or so upon the ground. 
Luckily there was no such tragic ending. At the very 
moment when the hunter cast the net over the topmost 
branch, upon which Joseph had perched, the latter with 
the quickness of thought slid down the trunk on the 
other side, and amid a shout of laughter from the crowd 
beneath, hung a few yards below his pursuer. It took 
the poor fellow fully half an hour to disentangle his net 



64 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

caught in the multifarious branches, while the gorilla 
watched him coolly. When the former began to descend 
the latter did the same. 

" We have him," cried I, making signs to the men to 
silentl}^ surround the base of the tree. 

'' Not yet, massa," replied the less sanguine Thursday, 
whose doubt was justified by wily Joseph, wdio, seeing the 
unfriendly circle immediately below him, went rapidly up 
the tree again, avoiding the would-be captor's net, and, 
in fact, climbing directly over his body without wasting 
time to l^ite him as he w^ent, and again taking up his old 
quarters in the very top of the tree. The native renewed 
his pursuit, and the same comedy was. repeated several 
times, until, from sheer exhaustion, the chase had to be 
abandoned. 

The kins;, however, su«:g;ested a stratag;em which 
proved successful. Guarding the tree till night we 
stretched our net around the base of the tree, with a man 
in hiding holding its lines. Joseph, thinking the field 
clear, came down from his perch, was forthwith captured, 
thrashed, and put back into his cage. Thursday confided 
to me that this wretched little monster must be bewitched 
by an evil spirit and that I could never tame it. What- 
ever the cause, his conclusion was certainly correct. In 
spite of all my care and watchfulness I could do nothing 
wdth his savage habits. Indeed, captivity seemed to add 
each day to his intractability and ferocity. He had come 
to know me, and wdien he saw me going by and was 



DOMESTICATING MY GORILLA. 65 

hungry lie called me with a cry pitched to a special key 
which he used for me alone. But woe to me if I hap- 
pened to get too near him ! He would make a quick 
snatch at my arm or leg, and I nearly always left a piece 
of my clothing in his possession. I saw clearly that 
these coverings were not what he was really after, and 
that he would gladly have buried his teeth in my flesh, — 
an end which I took precious good care he should not 
accomplish. 

Every day the king repeated to me his certainty that 
I could do nothing with the brute, and that, as had been 
proved time and again by the natives, he was sure to die 
within a month. On the twenty-first day of his captivity 
Joseph refused all food, crouching in one corner of his 
cage, his eyes dull and mournful, seeming to regard 
everything that went on round him without tlie least 
interest. He seemed to be suffering from a violent fever, 
for every few minutes he would dart to his water-butt 
and drain it to the last drop. Now I could touch him 
without his trying to bite me. It even looked as if he 
regarded me, from his dim, half-closed eyes, with less 
fierceness, and I felt a kind of remorse at having deprived 
the poor fellow of his free forest life. I took him out of 
his cage and laid him on a bed of moss and leaves in the 
sunlight, and he allowed me to do so, like a child, without 
making any attempt to escape or bite. It was the fifth 
day of his sickness when he began to toss about rest- 
lessly, and every now and then was seized with a fit of 

5 



66 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

choking which left him without strength or motion on his 
bed of pain. The natives advised me to get rid of him at 
once, several even offering themselves to kill him for me ; 
but I declined. He was too human in his sufferings. In 
spite of his weakness, he had kept in the highest degree 
his instinct of self-preservation ; and at the slightest move- 
ment near him his eye would suddenly flash again, as it 
used when any one approached him. He seemed, curi- 
ously enough, to fear the blacks much more than me. 
I surrounded him with every care and attention I could 
think of, convinced that if he recovered he would never 
resume toward me his natural ferocity. But it was of 
no use ; he sank hour by hour, and on the ninth day his 
death-agony began. I shall never forget the painful last 
half-hour. Poor Joseph, his head on my knees, trem- 
bling with cold, although the temperature was eighty, 
began to show those signs of approaching death which, 
once seen, can never be forgotten. The silence and 
solitude around me, only one of my race within many 
miles, and the night of the black forests of southern 
Africa no doubt all contributed to give more importance 
than it deserved to this pathetic sight. I had lived in 
India and other countries where they believe in metemp- 
sychosis, so many years, — countries where the right of ani- 
mals to live is almost as much respected as that of man, 
— that it may have had a great effect on my thoughts and 
ideas. But I could not help wondering, as this poor 
animal, so human in his death-throes, lay in my arms, 



DOMESTICATING MY GORILLA. 69 

whether man, who cannot create a spear of grass, has the 
right to destroy life in all its forms around him, more 
often to satisfy his whim than his necessity ; and whether 
it really is his rule here below to be continually breaking 
those infinitely fine links of the chain of destiny which 
binds together all beings, all spheres, and all worlds. 

The next day I had the body buried at the foot of a 
great tree, and made my preparations for departure, 
thinking all the while, in spite of myself, of certain 
theories of modern anthropologists, and wondering if I 
had interrupted the development of a primate into a 
human being. After a few hours' march I laughed at the 
idea, but still I have always retained a singular recollec- 
tion of Joseph's death, so like that of a young child. 

Aside from all question of sentiment, and to return to 
the more healthy one of science, I may say, after due 
inquiry and experiment, that I do not believe the gorilla 
can be domesticated. There is such a wild strain of 
ferocity in his nature that man's mind can have no in- 
fluence on it. I tried a similar experiment on an older 
gorilla which, so far as results went, proved the same as 
the one I have already described, except that the subject 
finally escaped. What might be the effect of confining a 
pair of gorillas and bringing up their offspring in the cage 
with them, I cannot say. After several generations had 
been brought up in bondage there might be something 
accomplished. But I consider it a fact beyond question 
tliat the young gorilla cannot be tamed, and as for cap- 



70 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

turing him alive when older it is as impossible as to lay 
violent hands on the Bengal tiger or the African lion ; 
to the latter, indeed, he may fairly be compared. It is 




I HAD THE BODY BUKIED AT THE FOOT OF A TREE. 

an undoubted fact that the lion, so common in other 
parts of Africa, is very rarely found where the gorilla is. 
They are no match for these terrible enemies, and they 



DOMESTICATING MY GORILLA. 71 

run to cover and hide when his roars re-echo through the 
forests. Even the elephant gets such blows and bites 
from him that, the natives say, although he is able to 
cope with him, he prefers not to fight. In the order of 
primates and even in his own family of anthropoids, the 
gorilla occupies a place apart and seems to deserve a 
special family for himself. We have finished with this 
interesting and mysterious animal, which, looking only 
at his physical structure, is the being, in nature, nearest 
like man. 



CHAPTER V. 

HUNTING CPIIMPANZEES. 




N this same family of anthropoids the chimpan- 
zee, after the goriUa, is the monkey most re- 
sembling man. He climbs with much greater 
ease than the gorilla, and can stand as straight as he ; iDut 
when he wishes to move he is obliged to fall on all fours, 
where the gorilla usually walks in an upright position. 
Although of a savage enough nature, especially when full 
grown, the chimpanzee is readily tamed, and in this way 
more than makes up for his physical inferiority to the 
gorilla. He is as intelligent, gentle, and social in his 
instincts as the other is stupidly fierce. And where the 
latter is more like man in stature and 1}uild, the former 
resembles him even more in the quickness of his intelli- 
gence and the gentleness of his ways, after domestica- 
tion. When wild he is very industrious, building stout 
shelters for himself in tall trees twenty-five or thirty feet 
from the ground, and never on it like the gorilla. And, 
different again from the latter, he is fond of climbing, 
and his gymnastic exercises would make a professional 
acrobat jealous. On my voyage up the Niger and on the 
shores of Guinea I saw crowds of these animals, and 



HUNTING CHIMPANZEES. 73 

nearly always hanging from the top branches of the high- 
est trees, whence they watched me with wonder mingled 
with fear. At the slightest movement on my part they 
fled headlong, making dizzy leaps from branch to branch, 
ending in running to cover in their huts, from which noth- 
ing would tempt them. These shelters are usually in the 
crotch between two branches, and are made of bamboo, 
interwoven, and bound together and to the tree very 
cleverly with withes. The roof is rounded like those of 
the natives' huts, which, indeed, in all respects, it is not 
unlike. One curious thing that I have often noticed is 
that they choose a tree at a little distance from its neigh- 
bors, so that no animal can use the branches of other trees 
as drawbridges to the chimpanzee's fortress. The ap- 
proach can be made only hy the trunk of the very tree 
in which the hut is built ; and there is no funnier sight 
than to see a family of chimpanzees surprised a little way 
from home, and making for it on the double-quick. Up 
goes the mother first, one or two of her youngest clinging 
to her neck; if there is a young one say two or three 
years old, he follows next, slowly and uttering cries of 
distress, until, as his strength nearly gives out and he 
begins to slip back, his mother throws one of her long 
arms back and grasps him, places him on her shoulder, 
w^here he hangs in desperation, and she continues her 
ascent with this addition to her precious burden. Mean- 
while the male has remained at the base of the tree to 
defend his family on their retreat, showing his teeth at 



74 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

all comers in a way meant to be terrifying, but wliicli is 
only comic. As soon as his mate is in safety he takes 
Ills turn in climbing the tree, at a tremendous pace, and 
hiding in his hut. Now keep perfectly quiet, and you 
will soon see a most cliarming sight. Hearing nothing 
further, the n:iale soon sticks out his naturally surprised- 
looking phiz and looks around with an inquisitive glance. 
Nothing to be seen — evidently the enemy has departed ; 
the soft breeze gently waves the palm leaves, the gray 
squirrels bound from branch to l_)ranch, and the great 
white herons fan the air with heavy, silent wings ; the 
danger has passed, and the moment for enjoyment has 
come. At the door of his aerial house stands the chimpan- 
zee uttering little encouraging calls to his family ; then, 
with the grace of a gymnast and an unequalled strength, 
he seizes the end of the nearest branch and swings him- 
self off, as on a trapeze, hanging by one hand, and with 
a leap is in the top of the tree, where his mate and such 
of the young as are strong enough promptly join him. 
Then the party indulges in the wildest gambols and the 
forest resounds with their joyful cries. 

Our climate is not favorable to the chimpanzee, and it 
is with great difficulty that they are kept alive in our 
menageries. They always succumb sooner or later to a 
trouble of the stomach. Although so easily taught when 
young, they seem as they grow older to lose this char- 
acteristic, and become cross and unsociable, so much so 
that they often have to be killed. I saw one once be- 




AT THE DOOR OF HIS AERIAL HOUSE STANDS THE CHIMPANZEE. 



HUNTING CHIMPANZEES. 77 

longing to a trader of Formosa that really was remark- 
ably well taught and intelligent. After that fatal voyage 
up the Niger, when I left two tliirds of my party buried 
on its banks, I spent nearly two months with this trader, 
a Swiss by birth, who had spent years on the African 
coast. It was here that I made the acquaintance of 
Master Jack, a fine specimen of his race, — tall, with 
silky black hair, dashed with a little white on his belly, 
and with a bare, shiny face that seemed always well 
shaven. Although the chimpanzee generally finds an 
upright position uncomfortable and seldom indulges in 
it. Jack had acquired the accomplishment of standing 
and walking ; and his spinal cohnnn had finally devel- 
oped on that axis until lie preferred a vertical position 
to that usually assumed by his race. His ears were large 
but well formed, his forehead arched and high, and his 
hands very like a man's, and with nails carefully trimmed 
by his native keeper, who was at once his original cap- 
tor and teacher. Like all well brought-up chimpanzees, 
Master Jack had several domestic accomplishments. He 
waited at table like a born butler, would pour you wine 
or water at a word, carry the empty plates away, and 
all with an amusing, evident enjoyment of his work 
and an address and silence that most of the heavy-footed 
native waiters would have done well to imitate. 

There was one duty, however, that it would not do 
to trust to him, — that of bringing in the fruit at dessert. 
His training had rather added to than diminished his 



78 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

natural gluttony, and once when he had iDeen called upon 
for this service he was still gorging himself with the 
rarest grapes as he brought in his master's fruit-dish 
filled with pineapples and bananas from which he had 
stolen them. Sometimes, indeed, when he was not being 
watched, he would walk off with the whole dish, hiding 
it in his bamboo hut that had been built for him in the 
court-yard, and coming l^ack into the dining-room, now 
and then licking his chops over some of his plunder. 
This ceased to be amusing when, instead of taking native 
fruits that could be easily replaced, he stole a magnificent 
basket of apples and pears that had been sent his master 
from France for a dinner party. The loss was not discov- 
ered till the day after the fruit's arrival, wdien only an 
empty basket remained in the hut to prove the thief. 
I suffered myself from the rascal's gluttony, in a w^ay 
which did his cleverness so much credit that I must 
tell it. I was in the habit of taking every morning at 
daybreak a cup of very strong black coffee and a sand- 
wich, which ni}^ own favorite man always laid on a table 
at the head of my bed, and then turning over for another 
nap in the cool of the morning, which, in that climate, 
follows the oppressive heat of the night. I always heard 
my faithful Thursday, who was still with me, come in 
and leave the cup where I could reach it, and I had 
become so used to the operation that, without opening 
my eyes, I would after a little while stretch out my 
hand mechanically and get the fragrant draught, almost 



HUNTING CHIMPANZEES. 79 

without disturbing my rest. When I did not eat the 
sandwich, as was often the case, I would save it for 
Master Jack. 

One fine morning I put out my liand as usual, but no 
coffee was there, although I had certainly heard Thursday 
bring it in a few minutes before. I forgot to speak to 
him about it during the day, and the next morning the 
same thing occurred. Thursday came at his regular hour, 
and two minutes later the coffee had disappeared. I 
suspected a little darky who brought me my morning 
bath, and resolved to surprise him in the act and teach 
him a lesson. The following day when Thursday brouglit 
in my tray, he woke me as I had instructed him, and I 
lay with half-closed eyes ready to jump up at the slightest 
sound. At the end of five minutes, hearing nothing, T 
ventured a glance at the bamboo stand, when what was 
my astonishment to see the cup was empty ! And I had 
heard and seen no one ! I called Thursday. 

"Where is Tom?" said I. That was the little darky's 
name. 

" I saw him just now in the kitchen, massa." 

" You did not see him come upstairs ? " 

" No, massa. Has Tom taken anything belonging to 
you ? " 

" Look," said I, pointing to the table. " You see, my 
coffee is gone ! " 

Thursday did not grasp the situation. '' Has not massa 
taken his coffee this morning ? " he inquired blandly. 



80 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

"No, nor yesterday, nor the day before." 

His great eyes open, his lower jaw dropped, Thursday 
stood thunderstruck. 

" You see," I added, " there is no one in the house 
beside Tom to do such a thing." 

Recovering a little from his surprise, the kindly fellow 
shook his head slowly and said, — 

" No, it can't be Tom, for he went at four o'clock 
with the cook to get the fish, and is but just returned. 
He had not taken off his basket when massa called me." 

This seemed proof conclusive of his innocence ; but who 
could be the sly thief ? 

" Would massa like to know who has played him this 
trick ? " Thursday whispered, making the strangest faces 
and gestures. "It is the mafoucs ! " 

"Who the deuce are they?" 

" They are the evil spirits of the Niger, who are furious 
at not having been able to kill the white chief who in- 
vaded their shores, and have come to revenge themselves 
here." 

I could not help laughing at his superstitious fears. 

"My good Thursday," I said, "that I am not buried 
in their marshes is due to your devotion and my own 
capital constitution. As for these mafoucs — " 

" Speak no evil of them, sir," he urged, with real 
terror ; and I concluded to let the matter rest until I 
could catch the thief unaided. At dinner I told the 
story to my host, who smiled in a knowing way, and, 



HUNTING CHIMPANZEES. 81 

to my question as to whether he could solve the mystery, 
laughmgly replied, " I think so. It must be Jack." 

" Your chimpanzee ? " 

" None other." 

"I can't believe it." 

" Well, all you have to do is never to lose sight of the 
cup of coffee to-morrow after it is set on the table." 

I resolved to follow his suggestion. 

At the usual hour Thursday brought my coft'ee, and 
I lay with half-closed eyes watching the cup intently. 
I had to wait but a few moments before the superstitions 
of my servant seemed about to be justified. The cup and 
saucer began to move from the centre toward the edge 
of the table without any apparent cause ! I sat up 
quickly, and the mysterious agent and his methods were 
revealed to my astonished eyes. Crouching behind the 
table, which hid him as the cup did his hand, was Jack, 
who must have stolen in on all fours, so that I should 
not see him, with an expression of prospective delight 
on his greedy face that was comic. He was so intent 
on his errand that he did not notice me at first, until 
I uttered an exclamation of pleasure at catching the ras- 
cal red-handed. Then, seeing Thursday blocking the 
door at which he had entered, he sprang to a ventilator, 
always open in this sultry climate, and with the greatest 
ease and agility swung himself out on to the eaves, and 
so into a neighboring tree. Safe in his improvised for- 
tress, he hurled down upon us all the branches he could 



82 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

reach and break off, chattering and making faces at us as 
only a chimpanzee can. The voice of his owner brought 
him down at last, and we soon became fast friends. 

The most surprising part of the whole thing was 
Jack's remarkable quickness of apprehension, and his 
choice of alternatives — always hitting the better — in 
reaching a desired end. In fact, one cannot conceive of 
a trick or clever ruse that he could not fathom and make 
use of, as was further shown in his strange partnership 
with a great mastiff of rare strain preserved only in 
London, from which city one of my host's correspondents 
had sent him. This animal w^as a great curiosity in these 
latitudes, where European dogs seldorn live long on ac- 
count of the heat and especially the diseased food which 
they find everywhere, and which he had so far avoided 
by being carefully confined in a large enclosure built for 
the purpose. 

Jack, the rascal, took a fancy to the brute, and finding 
his taste for the forbidden food, undertook to supply him 
with bones stolen from the kitchen. In return for this, 
the mastiff devoted whole days to serving the chimpanzee 
in the capacity of a pillow ; and the lattei' enjoyed nothing 
so much as lying at full length on a mat, with his head 
on his friend's big back. 

As I said before. Jack, when found out in his theft, 
fearing the thrashing he deserved, took refuge in a tree, 
and was brought to terms only by the sight of his master, 
who exercised a real fascination over him, and before 



HUNTING CHIMPANZEES. 83 

whom he always acted upon his best behavior. Tliis was 
because my liost had never played with him, nor, although 
speaking gently to him, petted him. At the same time 
he never refused him anything to eat which he seemed 
to want, and this attitude had produced in Jack a certain 
feeling of respect and fear, mingled with a strong, affec- 
tionate attachment. 

Beside his fondness for every kitchen dainty, he was 
also a lover of the cellar and its contents, and an open 
bottle could not be left anywhere unguarded, without his 
quick eye observing, and his thirsty lips draining, it. 
Under the influence of the liquor he would commit the 
most absurd follies, throwing off all control whatever, 
and breaking his dishes and belongings, all the time 
making the most frightful faces and chatterings. Like 
all tipsy people, he liad fixed ideas that nothing would 
influence, — a favorite one being to climb up the roof of 
his hut to a pole at the ridge. When this idea seized 
him, he would creep slowly up the bamboo walls of his 
hut, clinging by the swellings here and there, until, half- 
way up, he would lose his grip and go tumbling down 
upon the ground, to the great amusement of any lookers- 
on. This he would keep up until, at length, he could 
reach the top, where, with his arms round the pole, he 
slept until his brain became clearer of the fumes of wine. 
Sometimes these bouts had less happ}^ endings. Bottled 
wines fall an easy prey to the thievish negro servants, 
and Jack, to satisfy his cravings for liquor, had no 



84 



HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 



scruples in stealing from the thieves any broken cases he 
could lay his hands on. It was mere play for him to 
uncork a bottle as well as the butler himself could do it. 




IT WAS MERE PLAY FOR HIM TO L'NCORK A BOTTLE. 



and one morning while I was there he found a hidden 
treasure, and by -eight o'clock was as drunk as a lord. 
My host was at his office, the ladies not yet risen, and 



HUNTING CHIMPANZEES. 85 

the monkey was at liberty to perform his wildest antics. 
I was writing at my window, which commanded the 
court, and looking up, was surprised to see no Jack, but 
the natives all craning their necks up in my direction. 
Leaning out of the window, I saw the chimpanzee climb- 
ing leisurely up an immense tree and carrying Tom, the 
little darky, jauntily under his arm. The poor boy, in 
spite of his friends' advice, shouted up from below, was 
struggling and weeping, to Jack's evident amusement 
and delight as he continued his upward course, making 
the queerest grimaces. Wild with terror, the boy caught 
at a stout branch, and held on so firmly that the chim- 
panzee was compelled to stop. This he did, shaking Tom 
by the heels with his head down, until he was glad to let 
go and be carried in that position to the topmost branches 
of the tree. The shouts of the negroes and myself were 
of no avail ; and it was not until I had sent for my friend 
and he had arrived at the base of the tree, that Jack would 
bring his prize back to earth and his anxious friends. 

A few days later my host said to me at dinner, — 

" I am going to make a trip up the Rouyme ; don't 
you want to join me?" 

" Why, you know I am only just back from the Niger, 
and am still chattering with the ague. Could I stand 
this fatigue so soon?" 

" Yes, you have nothing to fear at this season from a 
new attack, and the fatigue will be slight, as we shall go 
in a small launch." 



86 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

" Then I accept with pleasure." 

" Although I wanted you to go with me very nuich, 
still I should not have urged the trip upon you, except 
that I knew you were always glad to add to your knowl- 
edge of monkeys, and that the country through which 
this river flows is filled with them in great variety. 
Two days' sail from here is a forest densely grown with 
palm and tulip trees festooned with flowering vines, 
where they love to resort ; so much so, indeed, that it is 
called the Forest of the Monkeys." 

"My dear host," I said, "my only anxiety is, when do 
we start ? " 

" To-morrow, at daybreak." 

I summoned my faithful Thursday and told him to 
get everything ready ; for although a short visit to one 
of his rubber depots was all that my friend had planned, 
still any journey in Africa means considerable prepara- 
tion. One must have arms and ammunition, a pocket 
pharmacopoeia, — to preserve at once the health and the 
skins of game, — and a lot of smaller things that only 
an old traveller remembers to get beforehand. Long 
before daylight I was astir, looking over my servant's 
preparations, and seeing my goods and chattels stowed 
on board the " Jenny," — an able little launch, named 
after my host's charming daughter. The first two days 
taught us her comforts, as we steamed between the rather 
monotonous banks, lined ^\\i\\ their luxuriant vegetation, 
and alive with water-rats, vipers, and adders. The trees 




UE HELPS IIIIISELF TO THE CONTEXTS OF THE NATIVES' CALABASHES. 



HUNTING CHIMPANZEES. 89 

were nearly all the so-called wine-palm, from which the 
natives get their favorite drink, by tapping, much as w^e 
tap sugar-maples. This liquor when drawn off at once 
is sweet and mild, and not at all disagreeable to a Euro- 
pean palate ; but after an hour or two of fermentation 
it becomes absolutely repulsive to all but a negro's taste. 
From the fruit of this tree a similar, though less valued, 
drink is obtained, that is very prompt in its effect on 
the wits of the drinker. This is called the chimpanzee's 
tree, and it is w^ell named, for the chimpanzee often 
dis|)utes with man for its possession, and it is in its 
branches that he builds his clever home. The natives 
even go so far as to accuse him of helping himself to the 
contents of their calabashes, hung to catch the '' fire- 
water." 

In fact, their stories in relation to this animal, although 
less savage in their nature than those concerning the 
gorilla, are no less curious and full of superstition. The 
native mothers bring up their children on stories like 
this : — 

" One day a chimpanzee met the king's officer. ' Good 
morning, dealer in slaves,' said he ; ' where are you going, 
and by what right do you pass through my forest ? ' 'I 
am going to your majesty's brother, the Sultan Haoussa, 
who is to sell me two hundred slaves ; if your majesty 
will permit me to pass, I will give you, on my return, six 
pairs of slaves.' ' All men are liars and cheats,' said the 
chimpanzee ; 'therefore leave with me your son as hostage.' 



00 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

Then the officer, standmg in great fear of him, left his 
son and journeyed on. But when he reached the sul- 
tan, he said, ' Give me, I pray you, a guard to protect 
me from the chimpanzee, for I fear lest he may not let 
me pass again through the forest in safety.' Now, 
when the animal saw him returning with a large guard, 
he was very angry, but he hid his wrath and invited 
them all to eat and drink, and plied them with wine 
till they were all drunk. Then, taking their lances, 
he pierced the heart of each soldier, and pinned them 
all to the ground, and released the slaves. When the 
officer awoke, the chimpanzee said to him, '■ Where 
are now your guard ? ' and in revenge for their dis- 
trust, he held the officer and his son in slavery ever 
after." 

Of course this is a very simple and naive fairy-story, 
but it is interesting as showing the native appreciation 
of the chimpanzee's intelligence and quite human sense 
of justice. Indeed, they consider him a man, condennied 
for his* evil deeds to wander for a time under this form, 
until he shall have expiated his faults. 

The second' night was upon us in all its impenetrable 
blackness l^efore we came to anchor. My friend insisted 
upon my turning in under cover of the cabin, to avoid 
the damp mists of the river, while he prepared a little 
theatrical surprise — as he expressed it — for ni}' morning 
awakening. 

"And the scenery?" said I, laughing. 



HUNTING CHIMPANZEES. 91 

" You will see later. Do not be worried at our absence, 
and we will come back for you at the proper moment. 
Thursday shall stay with you, in case you should want 
anything." 

A plank was thrown ashore, and I heard my friend 
give his orders in the native tongue, and then leave 
the boat, followed by his servants. There was nothing 
left for me but to roll myself in a blanket and turn in 
on the cabin lounge. It was still as dark as Egypt when 
I was aroused by my host's gentle touch, who said 
smilingly, " I am sorry to disturb you, but the time has 
come. It will be day in an hour." 

Thursday had already prepared our tea and buttered 
toast, and we made a hurried meal before starting for 
the Forest of Monkeys. We tramped along in the dark- 
ness, feeling our way with great caution, for fully half 
an hour. Suddenly the file came to a full stop. 

" Here w^e are," said our guide. " Take my hand." 

He led me to the base of a ladder, which he proceeded 
to climb, and I after him. Soon I came to the end of the 
rounds, and could feel nothing above. 

" Where the devil are you taking me ? " said I. 

" Don't be afraid, but move this way," he replied. 

Following his example, I advanced cautiously until I 
found myself very comfortably ensconced against a great 
limb of a banyan, with firm footing beneath me. 

'• How high from the ground are we ?" 

'• Oh, not more than ten feet," replied my friend, who 



92 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

had followed me up the ladder, and now sat down 
beside me. 

" When will you ring up the curtain ? " laughed I. 

" In a few minutes. Is every one in position ? " 

" Yes, massa ; yes, massa," came from a dozen differ- 
ent branches higher up in the tree. 

" All right. Now silence all ! " 

Day ends and begins in the tropics almost without any 
twilight, and with the rapidity of a change of scenery at 
the theatre. Hardly five minutes had elapsed before a 
pale light struggled through the forest, and in an instant 
the sun filled the trees with its golden rays, and the day 
had come. 

At a glance I took in the whole remarkable scene. We 
w^ere perched in the heart of a banyan, sheltered from 
observation by a screen of palm-leaves, woven together 
with tough vines and tendrils, yet wnth an unobstructed 
view of what was going on around us. At the first light 
of day, a cr}^ of joy, in a hundred different keys and notes, 
went up from the innumerable little huts hanging, like 
grapes in cluster, from every tree in the forest. Each of 
these huts sheltered its family of chimpanzees, and old 
and young came bounding out, uttering piercing cries, to 
join in a grand romp. Thousands of the agile animals 
sprang from branch to branch of the highest trees, bal- 
ancing, swinging, leaping, sliding, and making a weird 
scene to my eyes, unaccustomed to see so large a number 
of monkeys at once. We stayed nearly two hours. 



HUNTING CHIMPANZEES. 93 

watching their play, and we were so completely hidden 
that none of them suspected our presence. After seeing 
them in this way, I became convinced that the natives' 
opinion of their intelligence, and their obedience to the 
recognized chiefs of their strange communities, is justi- 
'lied by the facts. This city of theirs proves their social 
instinct, and its very existence makes certain tacit rules 
of conduct probable. It is this social life that especially 
distinguishes the chimpanzee from the gorilla, who lives 
only with his family and never in communities. 



mm 

mm 



CHAPTER VI. 

I MAKE THE ACQUAINTANCE OF THE ORANG-OUTANG. 

T was not till some months after the incidents 
mentioned in the last chapter that I fomid 
an opportunity to study another species of the 
animal most nearly resembling man, — the orang-outang. 

This monkey is found in Borneo, and thither Thursday 
— now grown more civilized and more indispensable — 
and I turned our faces. We took passage on a craft 
going out with Chinese laborers, and a hard voyage we 
had of it, with head winds and a heavy sea. But at last, 
ten days late, we arrived at Saraouak, and immediately 
inquired of the native hunters where we could best find 
the game for which we were in search. They advised 
the Sadong River, running to the east from Saraouak, 
and bordered its entire length with dense forests. I hired 
a Dyak porter to carry our provisions, and we set out. 
Two days later we were floating on the river, and my 
ardent desire was al30ut to be gratified. 

Orang-outang is a word meaning in Borneo " Man-of- 
the-Forest," and is applied to what is now a species of 
small stature, rarely five feet high, but of stalwart build, 



THE ORANG-OUTANG. 



95 



the body being often in circnmference two thirds of the 
height. His arms care a quarter longer than his legs, so 
that when travelling on all fours his attitude is half up- 




AN ORANG-OUTANG. 



right ; but he never really stands on his legs like a man, 
popular belief to the contrary notwithstanding. When 
young his color is tawny, but he grows black with years. 



96 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

The orangs live in couples in the most secluded parts 
of the forest, and are never active, like the chimpanzees, 
but sit all day with their legs round a branch, their heads 
forward in the most uncomfortable attitude, occasionally 
uttering mournful sounds. When pursued they climb 
slowly up a tree, and at night sleep in the huts built to 
cover their young, of which they are very careful, and 
whose wants they supply with almost human tenderness 
and devotion. When taken young they are susceptible 
of taming and domesticating, like the chimpanzee, but 
as they grow older they become cross and violent, and, 
curiously enough, the forehead — prominent in the adult 
— becomes retreating in later years. 

After waiting some days without seeing any orangs, 
my native guide advised our going away from the river, 
deeper into the unbroken forest ; and this we did, a two 
days' march. One morning, just as I had killed and was 
examining a queer wild pig, I heard a rustling in the 
leaves over my head, and looking up, was paralyzed with 
surprise to see, some twenty-five or thirty feet above me, 
an enormous orang-outang quietly seated on a tamarind 
branch, watching me and grinding his teeth. My porter 
was making me elaborate signals of distress, which Thurs- 
day translated into advice to shoot the beast, who was old 
and fully grown, with my explosive-ball rifle. 

" He says he is an evil one," added Thursday, " and 
that the old orangs are very dangerous and will attack a 
man at sio;ht." 




A DYAK OF BORNEO. 



THE ORANG-OUTANG. 99 

"All right," I replied. "If he offers to attack us, I 
will stop him promptly with a bullet." 

It is true that one of my most ardent desires was to 
obtain a skeleton of a fully developed orang-outang, but 
I decided to postpone the gratification of it until I should 
have watched the animal's movements in a state of ab- 
solute freedom. I told my men to clap their hands and 
shout, to scare him, but all he did was to sit and grind 
his teeth ; and I was almost persuaded to try my Dyak's 
advice, when the orang-outang coolly grasped a l^ranch 
hanging near, and swung himself slowly from tree to 
tree without any apparent effort, about as fast as we 
could walk beneath. We followed him until the dense 
undergrowth made the path impracticable. An athlete 
would have performed this trapeze act with, perhaps, 
more grace, but nothing could surpass the indolent ease 
with which he left us behind. 

This was my first interview with this peculiar animal ; 
and the superstitious Dyak assured Thursday, relating 
numerous parallel cases, that as I had not killed the 
orang, the orang would certainly kill me. He said he 
had known a great many travellers who had been at- 
tacked by them and killed, and that I would soon join 
their number, although he confessed that he had never 
himself been present at such a misfortune. 

One morning, as I was returning from a long walk 
through the woods in search of insects, one of my 
boys came running toward me, shouting with excite- 



100 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE 

ment, '^' Quick, take yonr gun I a large orang, a large 
orang ! " 

He had only breath enough left to tell me tke animal 
was up the path toward the Chinaman's camp, and I 
hurried in that direction, followed by two Dyaks. One 
barrel of my gun was loaded with ball, and I sent Charley 
— the boy — back to camp for more ammunition, in case 
I should find the game had kindly waited for me. "We 
walked carefully, making almost no noise, stopping every 
now and then to look round ourselves, until Charley 
rejoined us at the spot where he had seen the orang, and 
I put ball in the other barrel and waited, sure that we 
were near the game. In a moment or two I heard a 
heavy body moving from tree to tree, but the foliage was 
so thick we could see nothing. Finally, fearing I might 
lose him entirely, I fired at guess into a tree in which we 
thought he must be. For so large an animal he moved 
with remarkable swiftness and silence, but I felt sure, if 
we could follow his general course, we should eventually 
catch sight of him in some more open bit of forest. And 
so it proved. Just at the spot where he had first been 
seen by Charley, and to which we had now got l^ack, his 
tawny side and black head appeared for an instant, long 
enough for me to give him both barrels ; and while I was 
reloading I saw him cross the path, dragging one leg as 
if it had been broken by my shot. At any rate, he could 
not use it, and he took refuge between two branches 
of a lofty tulip-tree, sheltered from sight by the thick 




THEY ARE VERY CAREFUL OF THEIR YOUNG. 



THE ORANG-OUTANG. 



103 



growth of glossy leaves. I was afraid he would die up 
there, and I should never get him or his skeleton. It 
was no use trying to get the Dyaks to climb the tree and 




HE TOOK REFUGE BETWEEN TWO BRANCHES OF A LOFTY TREE. 



cut the branch from under him ; they were afraid, and 
said so. We tried to dislodge him with all sorts of mis- 
siles, but in vain. Finally wq started to cut down the 



104 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

tree ; but when the trunk was severed the tree only 
leaned over, and was held in that position by innumeral^le 
tough vines running to a dozen neighboring trees. It 
would take us all night to cut them all down ; still, we 
began the work, which almost immediately gave the tree 
such a shaking that down came the gigantic orang with 
a tremendous thud. When we came to measure him, we 
found him a giant indeed, stretching from hand to hand 
over six feet. He was horribly wounded, — both his legs 
broken, a bullet in his neck, another in his jaw, and a 
whole joint shot away from the base of his spinal column. 
And yet he was alive ! When he fell the Chinamen 
lashed him to a litter and carried him into camp, where 
it took Charley and myself all day to clean his skin and 
boil the flesh from his skeleton. From this and many 
similar experiences I have become convinced that, in 
spite of stories to the contrary, the orang-outang never 
attacks man. His policy is always flight, and to my own 
testimony is added that of all the Chinese wood-cutters 
whom I met in Borneo ; and the island is full of them. 

The next day, while looking for material to make 
myself a table for natural history specimens, Thursday 
and I ran across an old camp of some of these Chinese 
lumbermen, where fragments of plank and scantling were 
plenty. While we were gathering these I chanced to 
look up in the tree above us, and into the eyes of a very 
large orang-outang whose head only was visible. Re- 
membering the skeleton I wanted, I raised my rifle 



THE ORANG-OUTANG. 107 

immediately and fired where I knew the body must be. 
The animal, wounded but not killed, fell heavily to the 
ground, but almost at once started toward a neighboring 
tree, from which Thursday and a Dyak headed him off. 
Although badly wounded, the brute would have been more 
than a match for them both, had not a second shot from 
me ended the struggle. 

It proved to be a fully grown female, and a tiny young 
one was clinging to her in terror. Had I known this cir- 
cumstance I should not have harmed her, but it was too 
late then to make any difference. The little fellow trem- 
bled in every limb when Thursday brought him to me, 
and, in spite of my caresses, would not be reassured. But 
the more difficult it seemed to do anything with him, the 
more I resolved to succeed, and remembering my expe- 
rience with the young gorilla, I set about devising some 
way of feeding him. I started the Dyak off in search 
of a goat, and told him not to return until he found one. 
Meanwhile I mixed sugar, bread, and water together, and, 
although at first he declined it energetically, he soon 
sucked it from my finger with a decided gusto. It 
proved, however, too strong food for so young a stomach, 
and I was just beginning to think he would die on my 
hands, when the Dyak, followed by a Chinaman and a 
goat, came into camp. The Chinaman should have been 
a Jew, so sharp was he at trading ; but finally, after pre- 
tending that I cared nothing whatever about his goat, and 
after long haggling on his part, starting at one hundred 



108 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

rupees (twelve dollars and fifty cents) and coming down 
to five, the goat became mine, and the little orang-outang 
obtained a step-mother that soon rivalled its own mother 
in tenderness. She nursed it and caressed it exactly as if it 
had been her own, and a very pretty sight it was. He 
soon grew large enough to travel on his own sturdy legs, 
at any sudden alarm running quickly back to his nurse 
and clinging to her with his sinewy fingers. 

When he strayed away out of her sight in the woods, 
it was really pathetic to hear her bleatings and his 
answering cries. He had gradually come to know me, 
and he treated us all with the greatest gentleness. When 
he was three months old I began to give him bananas, 
of which he was very fond, and he afterward became 
accustomed to other fruits ; but nothing ever pleased him 
like the goat's milk. He learned very quickly, and at 
five months knew all objects in my tent by name, 
bringing to me anything I called for, which was certainly 
more than many children of two or even three years 
could have done. But with the latter, development pro- 
gresses with giant strides after that age, while with an 
orang it ceases. What an animal is at one year of age 
he always remains. 

One morning a Chinaman came to offer for sale a tiny 
monkey which he had partially tamed. This little ani- 
mal looked like a pygmy beside my young orang, but 
he could do a variety of things, like feeding himself, etc., 
that the larger was not yet up to. So I bought him. 



THE ORANG-OUTANG. Ill 

and put them in the same hut, where they soon became 
fast friends ; the monkey, on account of his more perfectly 
developed faculties, being easily master. 

When he wanted to sleep nothing would do but that the 
orang must lie down too, and let him pillow his head on 
him. But there was another side to this ; for the orang- 
outang looked upon him as a kind of doll, invented for 
his particular enjoyment, and when he felt in playful 
mood, he would seize the monkey by the ear or the neck 
or the tail, and swing him round and hold him in any 
uncomfortable position at his own sweet will. The mon- 
key would rage and even weep, but only interference on 
our part would stop this rough treatment. He learned 
early, as all animals do, to distinguish the members of 
our party and their relations, and, as master, he always 
treated me with respectful obedience. I taught him to 
eat rice boiled in milk, and to use a spoon and bowl like 
his little friend, who, by the way, was fond of stealing 
from him all he safely could. They were both gluttons, 
and nothing amused Thursday more than to set them 
quarrelling over some bit of choice fruit. As the orang's 
teeth grew, his temper and character became more pro- 
nounced, and, like an ill brought-up child, lie wished all 
round him to give way to his whims. He had no consid- 
eration whatever for the Dyak, who washed and tended 
him with the greatest patience, but tried to pull his hair 
and bite him whenever the mood seized him. I named 
him Joseph and the monkey Jack, — after my chimpanzee 



112 



HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 



friend, — and they answered promptly to their names 
when called, without mistake. I was proud of them and 
their accomplishments, and tempted to send them home 






■ ■■■«.. XX*- .:l^"^N v^*^ 




I TAUGHT HIM TO USE A SPOON. 



to some naturalist, but chance prevented. You should 
have seen them, — Jack, a napkin round his neck, seated 
at a corner of the table eating slowly with fork and spoon, 



THE ORANG-OUTANG. 113 

like any well-taught child ; Joseph, with a napkin over 
his arm, waiting upon him as solemnly as an English 
butler. To be sure, they stole the best fruit — but then, 
no one is perfect ! It was with a real pang that I left 
these little fellows behind with a friend, to whom I gave 
them on my departure from Borneo. 

Perhaps this is the only case on record of the growth 
in captivity of a young orang-outang, and it is interesting 
to note in what ways he resembled a child. When very 
young he lay nearly always on his back, with his legs in 
the air, and when he wanted anything he simply put his 
head back and how^led till he Q-ot it. When he first begcan 
to walk it was with the same timid hesitation that a child 
does, and when he succeeded in taking a few steps with- 
out falling, he glanced at us with a very human look of 
triumph. The appearance of the goat always caused him 
a high degree of satisfaction, expressed, again like a child 
on the entrance of its mother, by little sighs of content- 
ment. I may say, indeed, that up to the age of four or 
five months I saw nothing different in him from what 
I have remarked in a child except that difference of 
development mentioned before. 

My stay in Borneo was commg to an end when one 
morning I set out on a hunting trip which proved well- 
nigh my last. I carried my smooth twenty-four bore 
and, in deference to the Dyaks' urgent appeals, my rifle 
with its explosive ammunition. 

"It is a dangerous neighborhood," one of them said, 

8 



114 



HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 



"and we are liable to meet a tiger." This caution proved 
my safety, and without it I should not now be reeling off 
these veracious experiences, although we met no tigers. 




^^sii^tes 



WE WEKE TRAVELLING THROUGH THE EDGE OF A GREAT SWAMP. 



Up the Sadong we paddled for nearly an hour, until the 
trees along its banks began to grow thinner and a decided 
change in the character of the shores became apparent. 



THE ORANG-OUTANG. 115 

We were travelling through the edge of a great swamp 
where peat pits and stagnant pools alternated strangely 
with little oases of clustered trees, contrasting sharply 
with the surrounding level and looking for all the world 
like floating islands. 

AYe landed and began a careful march across the quak- 
ing ground toward one of the larger islands. The soft 
mud showed recent tracks of orang-outangs, some of them 
evidently of the largest size. It was a long and difficult 
trampj and my heart began to misgive me that the Dyaks 
had misled me in promising good sport before night-fall, 
when the leader of our file stopped suddenly in the 
greatest apparent excitement and terror. 

" What is it ? " said I to Thursday, sternly. " Let us 
have no nonsense." 

'' He says he has made a mistake, and that the tide is 
rising;." 

" Well, what of it ? There is n't tide enough here to 
drown a dog. Tell him to go on." 

And on we went, to the Dvak's intense diso-ust and 
soon to our own apprehension ; for, although the tide rises 
but little, it soon covered our path, raised but little from 
the surrounding marsh, and made advance or retreat at 
first dangerous and then impossible ! I was very angry 
with the rascal, but decided to take it out of him later, 
when we should be out of our unpleasant predicament, 
and to bear the discomfort of standing in water up to 
the knees for a few hours with what philosophy I could 



116 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

muster. Suddenly the scene, which had its comic side, 
assumed a tragic one. I was trying to distinguish, along 
the horizon, the point where the ocean began, when I 
heard an exclamation of horror from the natives, who, 
with eyes starting from their sockets, pointed eastward 
toward the nearer tree clumps. 

'' What is it ? " said I, straining my eyes in the same 
direction, but in vain. 

" Crocodiles ! Crocodiles"! " 

I repeated the word mechanically, my heart sinking 
within me as I, too, began to distinguish the black points 
which indicated to the Dyaks' quick eyes the approaching 
enemy. 

"Are you sure?" I whispered hoarsely, the cold sweat 
pouring off my forehead. 

"Yes, Sahib, certain; and there are four of them." 

I had only six explosive-ball cartridges, and, in spite 
of their terrible effectiveness, I could but remember that 
the crocodile in the water is well-nigh invulnerable, wdth 
only his armor-plated back exposed. However, the terri- 
ble foe was still some way off, and I should not myself 
have detected them but for the Dyaks' quick instinct. 
There was nothing left us but to try, at any cost, to 
reach the nearest of the tree islands, avoiding by guess 
the bottomless mud-holes that beset the path. 

The unfortunate Dyak who was responsible for our 
position headed the line again, sounding to right and 
left, as he advanced, with his spear. It is impossible to 



THE ORANG-OUTANG. 119 

describe this adventure, — marching through the water, 
pursued by crocodiles, not daring to put down one's foot 
until assured by sounding that it would reach something 
solid. Although the island grew perceptibly nearer, our 
hungry neighbors did too, and at an increasing pace. 
Still we were distancing them, — for over many of the 
shoals they could not swim, and wading, for a crocodile, 
is a slow process, — when, without warning, and as quick 
as lightning, we felt the ground sink beneath our feet, 
and we were all four precipitated simultaneously into the 
swamp. Instinctively, Thursday and I raised our weapons 
and ammunition high over our heads, for when we touched 
bottom — that is, a fairly solid layer of vegetable matter 
— the water reached our arm-pits. 

"We might as well give up," said I, in despair; "this 
time we are lost ! " 

" Oh, don't give up yet. Sahib. We are so low that, 
with this head wind, the crocodiles cannot see us and will 
perhaps be unable to find us at all. Let us cover our 
heads with these marsh grasses and leaves and ' lie low.' " 

His advice was so evidently good that instead of a vain 
attempt to reach the firm land with its inevitable ex- 
posure to the hungry eyes of our terrible pursuers, we 
acquiesced at once. After several minutes of suspense, 
the Dyak raised himself slightly on a hummock, and 
glanced cautiously toward the spot where we had last 
seen them. His face cleared at once, and he cheered us 
with. — 



120 



HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 



" They have lost ns, and have separated to search for us. 
Three are going ahnost dh^ectly away from this place, and 
one only knows enongh to keep on in the first course." 




WE COVERED OUK UEABS "WITH MARSH-PLANTS. 



"And he is headed for us?" 

" In a straight line ! " 

" Then do not lose sight of him for an instant. With 



THE ORANG-OUTANG. 121 

one enemy we may be a1:)le to cope, and then there is a 
chance that he may lose the scent." 

When I asked him again where the animal was, — for 
I dared not raise my own head to look, — he replied that 
he was still coming straight toward us, and I saw that 
a meeting was inevitable and made my preparations 
accordingly. 

I took my rifle from Thursday and loaded it with an 
explosive ball, and gave him my hunting-piece instead. 

" Now then, Thursday," said I, '' listen to my instruc- 
tions. The Dyak says the crocodile is sure to find us. 
I shall let him get within ten yards of us, and then I 
shall fire at whatever vulnerable part I can, — his eye or 
his belly. Of course I may miss him, or the bullet may 
glance oif his back Avithout wounding him." 

The black's eyes rolled with horror. 

" Then, without an instant's hesitation and yet without 
haste, you, who must stand just behind me, must take 
my rifle and hand me my other gun for a second shot. 
Do yon understand?" 

"Perfectly." 

"And I can depend on you?" 

"Till death." 

" We will try to make it less bad than that, and your 
courage shall meet its reward." 

I knew what he said was true, for the fellow had been de- 
voted to me ever since I saved his life in the jungle vv^hen 
the gorilla grappled him, and I felt I could rely upon him. 



122 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

Raising myself as high as I could, I took a good look 
at the slowly approaching monster, and, I confess, a shud- 
der of horror ran through me at his immense size. He 
was farther off than I had expected, and evidently quite 
unconscious of our neighborhood, into which he had come 
by chance, following the raised path on which we our- 
selves had been travelling when the tide overtook us. I 
immediately changed my plan of attack. I ordered 
Thursday to wade off to the left so that the smoke from 
his scun should not blow across me, and told him to fire 
at the crocodile and try to wound him, if only slightly. 
As this would make the latter raise his head and look 
round, I hoped to get a shot at some very vulnerable spot, 
and land an explosive ball where it would do most good. 
I liad hardly taken up my position, with rifle lifted, when 
Thursday's gun cracked sharp and clear, and I saw blood 
fly from the eye of the crocodile, whose advance ceased 
immediately. I could hardly restrain a cry of joy, but 
catching sight of a yellow bit of neck, I fired at it and 
shut my eyes. A great splash and the shouts of triumph 
of the Dyaks encouraged me to open them, and I found 
the success of the shot greater than I could have hoped. 

The crocodile lay on his side on a little island with his 
neck blown open the entire length of the jaw, while the 
Dyaks, who had made a break for land without regard 
to Thursday or myself, capered round him. I called 
them, and they helped me on shore to where the animal 
lay in his last agony, — for these brutes die as hard as a 



THE ORANG-OUTANG. 125 

snake. He was a very large specimen, with a head twice 
as long as it was broad, his eyes set close together above 
liis long snout, of which only the under jaw was movable. 
His front feet had five toes armed with claws, and his 
bind feet but four, and webbed to allow him to swim 
easily. His whole body was shingled with plates of a 
shell-like membrane that made him a fine coat of mail 
nearly bullet-proof. Green on the back, his color gradu- 
ally shaded off into yellow, and he was a terrible foe to 
meet in the water, where we should not have come off so 
well had not our good luck stood by us just as it did. 

I was duly thankful to regain the bank, which I had 
never expected to touch again, and had not the heart to 
blame the Dyak wlio was responsible for our narrow 
escape ; but I resolved to place less reliance on the natives 
in future. 

On the way back, Thin\sday had the satisfaction of 
shooting a fine full-grown orang-outang, without injuring 
a bone, and I prepared the skeleton for mounting in an 
ingeniously easy way suggested by him. Cutting off the 
meat roughly from the frame, we placed the carcass near 
a large ant-hill, and surrounded both with a plank fence. 
In a week the ants had left it for me clean and white as 
ivory. This satisfied me, as far as orang-outangs went, 
and I turned next to a lower sjDecies of monkey, — the 
long-armed ape, or gibbon. 



CHAPTER VII. 



STILL IN BORNEO. 



ii 



TRUST the reader will not object to prolong- 
ing his stay in Borneo with me, to make the 
acquaintance of this curious family of apes, 
owino- their name to the unusual proportion of their arms 
to their legs, as is shown in our picture. They are of a 
gentle nature and easily tamed, and although less intelli- 
gent than their cousins, the chimpanzees and orang- 
outangs, they are much more agreeable to have anything 
to do with. As they grow older they seem even more 
sociable and good-tempered, — quite the opposite, as you 
see, from the others. They are very common in the 
forests of India, Java, Sumatra, and Borneo, where they 
live in large communities under recognized leaders, at 
wdiose call they meet at sunrise and sunset, with a fearful 
din and chattering that must be heard to be appreciated. 
Even when confined alone, these monkeys retain this 
habit of greeting the orb of day with a harsh, monot- 
onous cr}^ repeated when the night comes on, and gaining 
in intensity and sending power — as singers say — through 
a pocket connected with the larynx in which they can 
store up air. 



STILL IN BORNEO. 



127 



A point in which the long-armed ape differs from all 
other monkeys, and which therefore must not be forgotten 
of them, is their extraordmary care in removing their 




THE GIBBON, OR LONG-AKMED APE. 



dead far from their homes. They do this invariably, and 
one cannot be long in the vicinity of one of their commu- 
nities without seeing them engaged in this almost human 



128 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

errand ; four bearers, one for each limb, carrying a dead 
body toward some quiet spot in the forest. 

One night when I was in India I saw a crowd of these gen- 
tle creatures climbing over the ruins of an ancient temple, 
and a weird sight it was. We were passing the night in 
one of those old brick towers built by the rajahs, at regular 
distances, to shelter travellers. Imagine a kind of turret 
twenty or twenty-five feet high, divided into three stories, 
each of one room surrounded by a low ledge on which 
travellers might sleep, and crowned with a platform from 
which they could safely enjoy the comparative coolness 
of the nights and listen to the strange concert of sounds 
that arose from the forest round its base. That night the 
tigers, attracted by our horses that we had stabled in the 
lower story, prowled round our shelter uttering their pen- 
etrating cries, sometimes in a deeper tone that rolled and 
reverberated like thunder through the tree-tops. To these 
notes was added the occasional cry of a panther, stealing 
up to our ill-fastened door to find himself disappointed of 
his prey. My hunting companion fired his revolver toward 
several pairs of lurid eyes which, at the report, disappeared 
into the blackness of the surrounding undergrowth, only 
to reappear after a few minutes as hungry as ever. A 
tiger, by the way, is nearly always hungry ; for living as 
he does on the flesh of deer and other swift-footed game, 
he is often unable to catch them for days together. 

One of my friend's shots was followed by an unusually 
sharp and loud cry. 




GKNTLE CREATUKES CLIMBING OVER THE RUINS. 



STILL IN BOnNEO. 131 

'•Touched," said he. 

*'Do you think so?" 

•' Yes, listen." 

We could hear the irregular and painful breathing of 
the beast growing fainter, and in the morning found a 
few yards from the tower a magnificent specimen of the 
jaguar with my friend's bullet just back of his shoulder, 
w^iere death must have followed promptly. On the way 
back from this very trip we managed to capture a fine, 
well-grown entellus, that closely resembled the sacred 
monkey so common in India, especially in Bengal. For 
this animal the Indians have so deep a veneration that 
they allow him to enter their gardens and help himself 
to all the fruit he wants without the least remonstrance. 
As the animals always travel in companies, this privilege 
results in absolute starvation to the farmer who is visited. 
You may go to bed with a superb garden filled with 
bananas, guavas, and all the delicate tropical fruits, ripe 
and luscious; the next morning you wake up to find — 
nothing. At dawn a band of sacred apes has fallen 
like a blight on your garden ; and there the thieves are, 
eating the plunder under your very nose. The servants 
refuse to. touch the intruders, and if you try to shoot 
them yourself leave your service, and your house is 
soon tabooed, for they have the countenance and sup- 
port of all the superstitious natives from Cape Com- 
orin to the Himalayas and from the Persian Gulf to 
Calcutta. 



132 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

The legend from which all this reverence obtains its 
authority is as follows : — 

THE LEGEND OF RAMA AND THE APE 
ANNOUMA. 

Once upon a time Rama, or Vishnu incarnated under that 
name, lived in Aodya, passing his youth in the silence of the 
forests, engaged in meditation and prayer. Djamadogny, King 
of Militta, having seen some of his wonderful deeds, proposed 
that he should try to bend an enormous bow, once the property 
of Siva, the god of war, offering him as reward, if he succeeded, 
the bow and his beautiful daughter Sita. The latter was so 
marvellously lovely that all the princes of India had tried to 
bend the bow, hoping to win her hand, but not one of them 
could even start it. Rama, without any apparent effort, bent 
the bow, strung it, and drew the cord an arrow's length, and 
drove the shaft through the palace walls with such force that it 
wounded a Brahman's wife within, and so seriously that her life 
was in danger. Her husband, furious at the accident, by virtue 
of spells and sorceries uttered a curse that condemned Rama, 
although a god, to a life in which he should never be wholly 
successful in anything he undertook, nor perfectly happy. This 
power is common to all Brahmans, and is irresistible for mortals 
and gods alike ; and poor Rama saw all his undertakings blighted 
in the bud by this unhappy curse. He had hardly returned with 
his lovely bride to his own home, where he was now king, when 
his late father's second wife came to him to beg him to abdicate 
in favor of her son, alleging that the gods, through the oracle, 
had declared that to be their wish. 




A FEW YARDS FKOM THE TOWER A MAGNIFICENT JAGUAR. 



STILL IN BORNEO. 135 

Seeing in this another attack from his unhappy fate, Rama 
laid aside his crown and retired to the forest with his wife Sita 
and her brother Latchoumana. 

One day while the latter was out hunting, he cut off the ears 
from the six heads of Sauparna, sister of the ten-headed giant 
Ravana, King of Ceylon. This monarch took his revenge by 
carrying off Sita one fine afternoon, when her husband and 
brother were not near to protect her, and immuring her in a 
dismal dungeon. 

Rama was inconsolable at this climax to his misfortunes, and 
could think of nothing but how he should rescue his beloved 
wife. To do this an army was necessary, and he applied for aid 
to the young man in whose favor he had given up his throne, 
but in vain. 

It was now that the apes came to the rescue. Their chief, 
Annouma, called them together, and put it to vote whether Rama, 
the incarnation of Vishnu, deserted by gods and men, was not a 
fit object for sympathy and assistance from them. There was but 
one sentiment in the meeting, and a messenger was despatched 
to Ceylon to see what had become of Sita. The extraordinary 
agility and strength of the ape made him a peculiarly suitable 
spy, and he succeeded in finding the imprisoned lady, when 
most men would undoubtedly have failed. When he had reached 
the castle in which she was confined, he climbed to the top of a 
tree near her dungeon, and when he saw the fair Sita come on 
to the terrace to enjoy the fresh evening air, he began to sing 
her this song : — 

" Of what is the lovely Sitti thinking, 
^^'hen she looks afar, across the forest, — 
She, the daughter of the Earth and Plutus, 
Towards the countiy of the Sunlight ? " 



136 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

And Sita replied : — 

" I am listening to the breezes 
From the country of the Sunlight, 
Bringing words of bitter anguish 
From my Rama, well-beloved," etc., 

like all the nursery ballads of every people, running on to a 
great many verses. 

The messenger returned to Rama with the assurance that Sita 
was w^aiting patiently for his coming with the friendly apes, to 
free her from the tyrant Ravana. Then Annouma and his allies 
raised a mighty army of apes, and began to build a bridge of 
stone over to Ceylon ; and while his soldiers brought stone, 
Annouma uprooted trees and carried rocks, " more than the 
hairs upon his body." While the bridge was building the bears 
sent a regiment of their best warriors to reinforce their friends 
the apes, and together they marched across the bridge toward 
the centre of Ravana's kingdom. 

But he, knowing of their coming, had prepared endless ob- 
structions and legions of opponents. First they were obliged 
to conquer thousands of crocodiles from the island marshes ; 
then flooded river-beds and mountain torrents opposed them ; 
then came fire, — whole forests sacrificed to the flame. But the 
brave apes and bears were sworn to win or die ; and they con- 
quered each obstacle in turn, and finally arrived before the castle, 
where they thrashed Ravana in several well-fought battles, in 
wdiich Annouma was always in the thickest of the fight, and 
drove him into his citadel, — his last resort. The siege lasted 
ten years, with varying fortune ; and before it was over, all the 
gods and goddesses had taken sides, — some for Rama and some 
for Ravana, — and were helping their favorites with every means 



STILL IN BORNEO. 



137 



in their power. At last Ravana was slain in single combat by 
his adversary, and Sita was restored to her husband's arms, and 
the King of Militta punished for his refusal to help him. In 
leaving Ceylon, Rama placed a giant ally on the throne, promis- 




OFFERING THE BEST FRUITS OF THE LAND. 

ing him that it should be his while Annouma and his race should 
be honored and respected ; and that this should be " as long as 
the world remains held in space by the hand of its god ; as long 
as the sun-god hurls his radiant darts through the ether, and the 



138 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

wind-god whistles from nortli to south and from east to west, 
carrying the clouds on their errands ; as long as the stars shine 
in the heavens, and the rising and falling sea makes a line of 
foam round the earth, and the lotus flower, like the spirit of 
creation, floats thereon. Curses upon him who fails in his 
worship of you, or in offering you the best fruits of his land, as 
he would to any god. Curses upon him who shall despise or 
maltreat you; for I, Rama, incarnation of Yislmu, pronounce you 
and your offspring sacred upon the earth, even until the ages 
shall bring again the return of Brahma and the last day for 
gods and men and every liviug thing." 

The worship of Annouma has spread through the whole 
of India, and, although the followers of Vishnu especially 
reverence him, no sect refuses to honor him with offerings 
of fruit and flesh. Where these sacred apes are most 
common, the poor natives not only let them help them- 
selves to anything in the garden, but actually prepare 
great platters of sweetened rice, which they carry piously 
to some one of their favorite haunts. Perhaps no people 
show a stranger form and object of worship than they, 
nor one more difficult of explanation. I once said to a 
Brahman with whom I was on terms of the greatest frank- 
ness, which allowed the remark, — 

" You are far too intelligent to believe this story of 
Rama and Annouma." 

" They are stories for children," he replied. 

" Then how do you explain the universal credence given 
them?" 




"I CANNOT AFFOKD TO SUPPORT THEM," HE SAID. 



STILL IN BORNEO. 



141 



" Simply that they have been invented to explain a 
feeling of indebtedness to the apes that owes its origin 
to their having given warning by their cries of an 




MACAQUE APES. 



approaching tidal wave and flood, and thereby saving 
whole communities, who heeded them and fled to the 
hill-tops." 



142 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

" And how do you, who own farms and gardens, treat 
them when they come to devastate them?" 

Smilingly he replied, " I cannot afford to support them, 
and so drive them off with a stick, — but I have to do it 
myself and at night." 

During the great war in Ceylon, the warrior apes of 
Annouma are reported to have taken, as servants and 
camp followers, numerous macaques, which differ in several 
ways from their reputed masters. Their most interesting 
characteristic is their imitativeness, and it is unwise to do 
anything in their presence that you are unwilling they 
should repeat. I saw one of them imitate his mistress, 
whom he had watched plucking and boiling fowls, by 
pulling out the feathers of a pet paroquet, in spite of 
the latter's beak and claws, and putting him alive into 
the teakettle, where he was afterward found by the 
cook! 



CHAPTER VIII. 

BACK TO AFRICA. 




HURSDAY and I returned to Africa laden with 
the spoils of our hunting trips in Borneo, and 
he, at least, well pleased to find himself once 
more in the African jungle. One night, as we were 
returning to camp from a hard tramp after a gorilla 
through swamp and forest, my guide, himself so weary 
that he leaned upon his bow, using it like a cane, stopped 
short, and motioned me to do the same. 

" Listen," said he. 

I could hear the distant calls of jackals and the usual 
thousand noises of forest life, but nothing else, and I felt 
that he must hear something that my duller ears could 
not. After a few moments of silence, durins; which 
Thursday's face expressed a growing astonishment, he 
condescended to explain. 

" There are a number of elephants in front of us, — in 
fact, a whole kraal." 

Kraal means " village " and, by wider usage, " tribe." 

" How can you tell ? I hear nothing." 

" But I hear their cries. Let us advance quietly so as 
not to attract their attention." 



144 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

I followed his advice, literally hardly breathing, al- 
though for several minutes I could distinguish nothing 
to suggest the presence of the huge animal. Then, how- 
ever, at last I detected the curious note which character- 
izes them, and which grew more distinct as we moved 
forward toward a large clearing, filled with the bones 
and tusks of elephants, and from which arose a horrible 
stench as from decaying flesh. 

"What place is this?" I asked the guide. 

"An elephants' burial-place," he answered mysteriously 
in a whisper. " Hist ! Look ! " The cries redoubled. 
" They are bringing one of their number to the charnel- 
house." They were no longer cries, but prolonged and 
plaintive shrieks and howls at unequal intervals, rever- 
berating through the forest. We hid in a ditch, and this 
is the strange sight we saw. 

A dozen elephants suddenly appeared at the other side 
of the clearing, surrounding and supporting an enormous 
patriarch enfeebled with age and sickness. To hasten his 
tottering steps, they all belabored him with their trunks, 
urging him forward to the tomb of his ancestors, among 
whose bleaching bones he was coming to lay his own. 
The convoy having supported him to a convenient spot, 
stood one side, and over he went upon his side with a 
mournful cry that startled the birds and monkeys from 
the neighboring trees, and drove them, a noisy band, farther 
into the forest to join the jackals, whose impatience could 
hardly brook any delay in the giant's death, and were 



BACK TO AFRICA. 145 

already hungry for his carcass. Just as the elephants 
were retiring into the dusky edges of the woods, Thurs- 
day made a movement that attracted their attention, and 




SEARCHING FOR ELEPHANTS' TUSKS IN THEIR BURIAL-PLACES. 

they turned and charged upon us ! The African was 
brave enough when his game was caught in. a pitfall, 
and all he had to do was to shoot poisoned arrows into 

10 



146 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

his defenceless body ; but twelve active elephants on the 
aggressive was a different story, and he turned tail and 
ran for his life. 

All I could think of, left in this predicament, was to 
fire at the leader and climb a tree. I had no sooner done 
the former, than, wheeling quickly, the troop made off 
into the jungle at right angles to where they had come 
ii: IVhen he saw that the danger w^as over, Thursday 
returned in a most penitent state of mind, and tried to 
make me believe that he had fled out of consideration for 
me, as, if the elephants had recognized him — their great- 
est dread — nothing could have stopped them ! On our 
way into camp, Thursday assured me that all communi- 
ties of elephants have their burial-place, and if one of 
their number dies suddenly, they drag him thither that his 
huge carcass may not infect their haunts. He was full 
of stories, and interesting ones, that would fill a volume, 
about this royal beast ; and I am very glad to have the 
opportunity to say a few words that may do some justice 
to this much-maligned brute, who should, much more than 
the lion, be called the king of beasts. 

There is no living creature, even man himself aided by 
all the devices of civilization, that can force an elephant 
to do anything contrary to his wish ; nor is there cage, 
nor prison, nor fetter, that will hold him without his 
consent. Man can kill him with the weapons of warfare, 
but can never tame him, like other animals, by starvation 
and hard treatment, but simply by an exercise of reason. 



BACK TO AFRICA. 149 

The elephant, when once domesticated, no longer thmks 
of the jungles where he grew up, nor does he have mo- 
ments of fury when all his savage nature returns to him. 
If left unconfined he does not spring upon his keeper, 
slay him, and escape to the wilderness, like most wild 
beasts ; for man attracts him, and he becomes his faithful 
friend and the sharer of his labors. I have seen him in 
Ceylon ; on the long roads, deep in dust, of Hindostan ; 
in the market-places of Benares ; in the jungles of Bur- 
mah and Indo-China ; in the vast wildernesses of Southern 
Africa ; and everywhere I have found him better than the 
men who use him, asking only, in return for his strength 
and his kind willingness, a little affection and good treat- 
ment. There is only one thing to be afraid of in him, 
and that is a madness very like that to which the human 
brain is subject. In this rare case he knows neither him- 
self nor others, and, as one can do nothing with him forci- 
bly, it is often necessary to shoot him. Sometimes this 
madness displays itself in an intense depression of spirits, 
when the elephant retires to some corner of his quarters, 
and refuses all food until he dies — as the natives say — 
of a l3roken heart. 

This remarkable animal remembers, understands, rea- 
sons, associates ideas, and even accomplishes two of the 
mental processes — comparison and judgment — which 
are at the root of intelligence ; so that, whether in point 
of animal or of intellectual strength, the lion makes little 
show before such an adversary. Indeed, his courage is 



150 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

nothing but unreasoning ferocity, and his generosity 
only a fable of certain naturalists, while his intelligence 
is far below that of the panther and tiger. The ele- 
phant, on the other hand, comes nearest man in point of 
intellect, as do the anthropoid apes in point of physical 
qualities. 

Elephants live in communities, under chiefs to whom 
strict obedience is observed, and in accordance with 
recognized laws. The labor of obtaining food is shared 
among them systematically, and fruits and roots are 
collected for the young, their mothers, and the weak 
and old in regular order. 

It has been urged against these animals as a proof 
of lack of intelligence, that the mother cannot recog- 
nize, in a herd, her own offspring from among the young 
of others, for they are brought up together. I am 
confident, from much observation, that this is not so, 
and that it is simply their custom to nurse any young 
elephant of the herd if their own are satisfied. Take 
a child five or six hours old away from its mother, 
and ask her, a few days later, to pick it out of a room- 
ful of children of the same age. It does not prove, 
because she cannot, that she is unintelligent. 

At any alarm of danger the chiefs utter a signal, 
easily remembered. Immediately the younger ones, 
guided by the females, place themselves together in 
the centre, with the females around them, and the 
males outside them. In this form they meet the attacks 



BACK TO AFRICA. 151 

of their enemies, or of others of their own race. In the 
latter case the struggle is terrific, and the forest re- 
sounds with the cries of tlie wounded, wliile tlie trees 




ADVANCE GUARDS, LIKE SENTINELS. 



bend hke reeds in the wind. Any of the conquered 
males left alive take flight, and the victors adopt 
children and wives of the vanquished in good old 
heathen fashion. 



152 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

PuDisliment is administered by the chiefs for acts of 
insubordination ; and it is not uncommon to see an 
offender seized by older elephants, and dealt resound- 
ing blows from their trunks. When tbey are on the 
march, changing their localit}^ they camp each night 
in the form of the hollow square I have described, 
posting, beside, advance guards, like sentinels, to watch 
that no enemy steal upon them unaware. 

Ever since Thursday had entered my service he had 
continually urged me to go on a hunt especially for 
elephants, assurmg me that it was the most excitmg 
and interesting sport possible. One night soon after 
this last adventure, he was speaking again on the same 
subject, and I at length consented, on one condition, — 
that having enjoyed all the excitement of the chase, 
we should not kill the elephant. Even Thursday's 
greed for pay, and consequent rum, would not have 
accepted this condition had I not promised him double 
wages for the whole time we were out. This brought 
him to terms ; and he proceeded to hire four other 
natives as his assistants, and one fine morning we set 
out for elephant-land. 

The five negroes were armed with shovel and pick, 
for we were simply going to hunt our game in am- 
buscade, — that is, take an elephant by tempting him 
into a pit covered over with branches and leaves. To 
make the pit, and cover it so that the elephant would 
not notice it, was easy enough ; but what I was more 



BACK TO AFRICA. 153 

anxious to see was how they would attract the game 
away from his herd, and draw him into the trap. We 
were fully sixty leagues from the coast, and all around 
us stretched an unbroken forest, where both good feed- 
ing-places and cool shadows, which the elephant loves, 
promised plenty of sport. Thursday felt confident that 
the very herd from which he had obtained ivory a year 
or more before would still have remained in such 
a favorable locality, where there was everything to 
tempt them to a long stay. That night we camped 
on the edge of the forest, and were careful to make 
as little noise as possible, and even went without a 
fire for cooking, to avoid any smoke that might warn 
tlie herd of our approach. We sujDped on maize and 
cassava cakes, made the day before by Thursday's wife, 
and on canned sardines, which I shared with my men, 
to their intense delight. Indeed, there is no surer pass- 
port to the hearts or greed of the blacks than a tin box 
of these oily fish, and they have often stood me in good 
stead among unfriendly natives. 

If we had been scented by the elephants, they would 
either have attacked us or left the country for several 
days; for although they fear neither animal nor man, 
still, the latter has an entirely different effect on them 
from the most savage of the former. When, for in- 
stance, he suspects the presence of his deadly foe, the 
rhinoceros, he shakes with rage, and hastens to meet 
the enemy in a combat from which he almost always 



154 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

comes out victor ; but if man approaches liim he retires, 
if possible, into the deepest solitudes of the woods, unless 
he once sees him, when he charges upon him furiously. 
So it was important to take all precautions that he 
should not guess our presence ; and we therefore, as I 
said, went without fire, which in Africa, surrounded as 
you are witli wild animals, is very dangerous. Thurs- 
day chose our camp wisely, in a little half-clearing 
where we could see in all directions a dozen yards 
around us, so as to avoid surprises, and away from 
the river we had been following, that we might not 
interfere with the drin king-place of any lions or pan- 
thers in the neighborhood. My hammock was swung 
on a tamarind branch at a dizzy height, and I had to 
reach it by an athletic exhibition worthy of a chim- 
panzee. Fifteen feet raised me from the clutches of 
prowling beasts, but laid me open to the danger of 
breaking a limb if my sleep were at all uneasy, so 
with a bit of line I laced myself in, and lay secure, 
Init sleepless. What nights these African days bring! 
Through the pathless forest roam wild beasts in search 
of food, ready to follow the first scent that promises 
them their prey ; ravenous — except on those rare days 
when they have ran across a buffalo strayed from his 
herd — and quick to take advantage of any unwary 
wanderer. Lions, panthers, elephants, and gorillas are 
here, and before the terror of their coming fly all the 
smaller game of the forest around. 



BACK TO AFRICA. 157 

Thursday had not been mistaken in his locality, for 
several times dming the night we heard elephants 
trumpeting in the neighborhood. At dawn he began 
his trap, — that is, he and his men set out to clean and 
rebuild one he had made and used the year before, — 
and in two hours it was done and cleverly covered in. We 
then, from a perch in a neighboring tree, saw^ him and 
one of his men disappear into the forest ; and I was left 
with his wife and the other men, who could none of them 
understand a word of my language, nor I of theirs. 

After several hours of uncomfortable waiting and listen- 
ing, I heard, evidently coming toward us, the distressed 
cry of a young elephant and, farther off, the answer- 
ing calls of his friends in the herd. Five minutes later 
the sounds were repeated, nearer still ; and soon I saw, to 
my intense surprise, that the first cry proceeded from 
Thursday, who made use of a reed to alter the pitch of his 
voice, and that he was certainly drawing on after him a 
male and female, in search of their supposed offspring. 
Thursday soon joined us in the tree, and, in reply to my 
compliments on his powers of imitation, said that was 
easy enough, but that the difficulty lay later when the 
elephants were near, looking for their young one. 

"Why, how is that?" 

" You see, then I must change the note to one of joy, 
as if he were pleased at the approach of help, for the 
elephant is bright enough to know that his young w^ould 
not continue distressed when he saw his family coming ; 



158 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

and," added lie, with conscious pride, "there are not three 
men in the business beside myself who can do this." He 
turned and addressed a word or two of caution to the 
natives, and the silence was unbroken afterward, save by 
the calls and answers from the elephants at intervals of 
a few minutes, the latter rapidly approaching our tree. 
At last we began to hear them breaking their way 
through the foliage, with occasional pauses to place the 
direction, evidently, from which Thursday's cries proceeded. 
It was one of those black nis-bts when the darkness is so 
intense it seems as though daylight could never pierce it 
again ; and this and my strange surroundings — clinging 
to a tree with a handful of savages, in the midst of an 
almost untracked wilderness, filled with wild beasts of 
which so roj^al an example was now nearing us — gave 
me, for a moment, a sensation of dizziness that proved 
Thursday's wisdom in lashing us to the branch. Suddenly 
the elephant's steps ceased, and two of my guide's best- 
feis-ned cries of distress remained unanswered. I bearan 
to fear lest our scent should have reached the game. I 
could hear the uneven, restless breathing that indicated 
disquietude ; and Thursday, too, evidently thought it time 
to change his tactics, for he uttered a much shriller and 
longer cry than before, to which the elephant replied by 
a soft and more agreeable note, almost like a mother's 
call. 

" It is a female," whispered Thursday, rapidly, and, 
without waiting for reply, he continued his quicker cries. 



BACK TO AFRICA. 159 

with a climax of great distress, as if the Httle elephant 
had suddenly been the victim of some fresh violence. To 
each reply he had a new note, pitched to marvellous 




' IT IS A FEMALE, WHISPEKED THURSDAY. 

agreement with the female's mood. His last call ended 
our long waiting ; for, with a threatening note, the huge 
animal charged forward to the rescue, breaking down all 
obstacles en route, until C7rish she went into the pitfall. 



160 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

"We have her," shouted Thursday, and with his native 
friends, began indulging in expressions of extravagant 
delisrht. It would have broken your heart to hear her 
piteous notes when these unaccustomed sounds reached 
her, trapped through her love for her young, and, in spite 
of frantic efforts, unable to get out of Thursday's cleverly 
arranged trap. The latter was ungenerous enough to 
utter again some of the cries of distress that had first 
deceived her, until I ordered him sharply to desist. Pity 
for a vanquished enemy is something that never enters a 
negro's head, and sympathy with a wounded or suffering 
animal strikes him as superlatively ridiculous, and I w^as 
compelled to repeat my order angrily to obtain obedience. 

The rest of the night passed in comparative quiet, al- 
though the elephant never ceased to struggle to escape ; 
and my conscience reproached me that I should have been 
the cause of sacrificing her to her maternal instincts. As 
dawn came her struggles seemed to cease, for we no lon- 
ger heard her frantic movements, wdiicli, we inferred, had 
wearied her. Thursday and I climbed down, when it 
was light, and approached our captive. What was our 
astonishment to see her, with the aid of her tusks, digging 
into the bank and trampling down the earth to aid her 
escape ! This accounted for the silence of the last few 
hours, and had we given her a few more she would have 
succeeded easily. The animal was so intent on her work 
that she did not at first notice us, but when she did, she 
associated us at once with her misfortunes, and began to 



BACK TO AFRICA. 161 

utter terrible cries, waving her trunk back and forth as 
if to threaten us. 

"Don't go too near," Thursday cautioned me. ''See ! " 
As he spoke he held out toward the angry beast a 
bamboo rod, which she grasped, almost dragging him with 
it, and broke into a thousand pieces, which she threw back 
at us with greater force than accuracy. This was followed 
by small stones and lumps of earth, her fury seeming to 
increase each moment, and lier cries growing louder and 
more penetrating. 

" We shall have the whole herd down upon us, if this 
goes on," muttered my guide, and, as if to confirm his 
statement, the distant trumpetings of many elephants 
could be heard answering their companion. Evidently 
the safest thing to do was to retreat as quickly as possi- 
ble ; but we had hardly reached our tree of refuge before 
the advance guard appeared on the edge of the clearing, 
and behind, hundreds of trunks and mighty heads were 
visible among the branches ; the former like great ser- 
pents in motion, winding round and uprooting any trees 
in the way of the herd's advance. It was a terrible and 
inspiring sight to see this army of faithful friends hurry- 
ing to the assistance of their comrade, whose cries were 
now of joy. In an instant two of the animals laid hold 
upon her and freed her from the pit, and surrounding 
her, the herd testified to their joy at finding her, in 
almost human caresses. All this lasted but a few mo- 
ments, and they turned for revenge upon those who had 

11 



162 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

invaded their solitude. With unerring accuracy in placing 
us and our refuge, they surrounded the tree and menaced 




THE ADVANCE GUARD APPEARED ON THE EDGE OF THE CLEARING. 

us with upraised trunks, while cries of fury resounded 
through the forest. 

Fortunately the tree in which we were sheltered was 
a safe refuge from any attack, on account of its enor- 



BACK TO AFRICA. 163 

mous size and strength. From one of these gigantic 
trunks, as a parent centre, the banyan reaches out its 
arms, that droop until the}^ touch the ground, take 
root, and add new trees to the old. In this way I 
have seen a whole forest grow from three or four 
banyan trunks, enlarging on the circumference, until 
the circle reaches some insurmountable obstacle like a 
lake, or river, or sandy waste. And so this banyan 
that we were in had its offshoots in all directions, and 
some twenty of them in the immediate neighborhood 
almost as large as itself. The elephants soon recog- 
nized their impotence in reaching us, and at a call 
from their leader, drew off to consult. That they can 
coramimicate their ideas is certain, and was again 
proved in this case, for after a time most of the herd 
calmly turned their backs and started for the same 
woods from which they had come. 

" We are saved I " shouted I, joyfully. 

" Not yet, Sahib." 

" What do you mean ? They are giving it up." 

" But they leave eight guards to prison us here, until 
we drop, from hunger and exhaustion, into their clutches ! 
We are likely to end our days here." 

A shiver ran down my back as I saw his prophecy 
fulfilled by eight great animals still lingering around 
the tree, feeding on the clumps of fresh pasture and 
green buds from the branches. Every now and then 
they came nearer, and raising their trunks in anger 



164 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

tried to reach us where we sat, and coming high enough 
to fan us with their hot breath. 

"Come, Thursday," said I, "you cannot have been so 
skilful a hunter all these years without having found 
some way out of this predicament, in which you must 
have been placed before." 

I saw my man was thoroughly frightened, and I 
resolved to try this flattery on him ; it produced a 
favorable effect, although he replied sadly enough, — 

" Yes, once. I took refuge in a similar tree to the 
one we are now in." 

" Well ? " 

" Well, the elephants, as now, placed sentinels, and 
I remained three days without food or drink, until I 
could hardly hold on to my branch. My wife, luckily, 
had been able to escape the first night of our captivity, 
and she ran by forced stages to the nearest village of 
our tribe. All the warriors armed themselves and came 
to the rescue." 

'• You mean to say that they dare to fight the elephant 
at close quarters?" 

" Oh, no ! They came several thousand strong, shout- 
ing, beating the tam-tam, and making a tremendous 
noise, for that is what the elephant dislikes, and off 
they went." 

" And does not your experience suggest any means 
of escape ? " 

After reflecting, he replied, — 



BACK TO AFRICA. 167 

"Yes, there are two, — but both dangerous. We might 
set fire to the forest and dry underbrush around us. The 
trees would burn last, and there would be a chance — 
perhaps one in ten — of our escaping alive, as the ele- 
phants would be driven off immediately by the burning 
undergrowth." 

" But how would you set the fire, when we cannot 
leave this branch?" 

" By lighting my cotton drawers, and throwing them 
down among those dry leaves there ! " he replied with 
a triumphant smile. 

'^ Well," said I, laughing at the fellow's ingenuity, 
and glad to see his confidence returning, " if your second 
idea is less practicable, we will try this one. But let 's 
hear it." 

Just as he started to tell me, one of the elephants 
came nearer the tree, and standing close beside it, 
watching us with angry e3'es, he raised his flexible 
trunk as far as he could, trying to reach us. His hot 
breath fanned us violently, and it gave me a dizzy feel- 
ing to see within how few feet he came of his prey. 
Seeing his inability to quite reach us, the animal uttered 
the most terrible noises, and his companions joined him 
in the assault, hurling their ponderous bodies against 
the tree, and shaking us as if it were a sapling. One 
of the elephants raised himself so high that he lost his 
balance and went over with a crash ; before he could 
recover himself, one of the others stepped upon his 



168 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

huge side, as if it were a hassock, and his trunk 
waved in our very faces. Thursday and I, instinctively, 
had thrown ourselves back, or one of us would have 
been taken and crushed. Quick as thought, Thursday 
buried his lance in the enemy's trunk, and the ele- 
phant dropped upon the ground uttering piercing cries 
of pain. 

''How foolish of you!" I cried; "you will only add 
to their fury." 

" You are mistaken, massa. Thursday is not foolish. 
The intelligent animals, having discovered by accident 
the way to reach our place of refuge, would in five 
minutes all be making use of this means, and we should 
be driven higher, to a less comfortable spot." 

He was evidently right, for though the wound he had 
inflicted could hardly have been deep, still, this one of 
our sentinels departed into the forest, whining like a 
whipped child. For the elephant, in spite of his great 
mass and thick hide, is very sensitive to physical pain 
when his blood is not up in a fight. 

"Now we have only seven guards," said I, triumphantly. 
"If we could only get rid of them all in the same way!" 

" Don't be too sure, massa ; the substitute for this one 
will not be long in putting in an appearance." 

" Do you think so ? " 

" I am sure of it. I know these animals only too 
well." 

" Then let us hear your alternative method of escape." 



BACK TO AFRICA. 169 

" Its danger lies in our number. Were you and I 
alone, we might easily make use of it. You see these 
almost horizontal branches, running oft" to the different 
tree trunks?" 

"Yes. Well?" 

"Well, at night we might, if alone, creep silently 
along these, holding our breath, until we reached the 
nearest clearing, perhaps a hundred yards away, and 
then drop to the ground and run for our lives." 

" That does not sound very difficult. What is your 
objection to it?" 

" Because, although he does not see at night so well 
as the lion or the tiger, still, the elephant discerns 
objects well enough to guide himself in the dark, and 
his hearing is very acute ; so that at the least noise on 
our part, the guards would follow us from tree to tree 
to crush us when we dropped to their reach." 

" Never mind, this is our onl}^ chance, and we must try 
it to-night, before we grow weak from lack of food." 

" All right, but it will be wise to separate in couples. 
I will take you first, then my wife and child, and the 
two guides last, by themselves." 

" Would n't it be a good idea for those left behind to 
make as much noise as possible, to draw the attention 
of the elephants, and cover our retreat ? " 

" Yes, and I should not have thought of it," acknowl- 
edged my guide; "it will double our chances." 

" Then you think there is a chance ? " 



170 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

" Yes, for the first at least ; and I am at your orders." 

At this mstant we heard a distant trumpeting. 

"Here comes the substitute for the wounded elephant," 
said Thursday. 

" Are you sure ? " 

"Look!" 

A hundred yards away a black mass bent aside the 
tall plants and young trees in its way, disdaining to 
uproot them. It was really an elephant ; and although 
at first I could hardly believe he came in place of his 
wounded companion, I saw from his reception that he 
was an old acquaintance, and, after greetings like those 
I have before mentioned, he went quietly to his station 
" on guard." The lesson, however, had been learned, and 
the elephants tried no further assault on our citadel. 

At the foot of our tree, exactly under us, lay a 
provision box containing the food we had brought for 
breakfast after the hunt, which in our sudden retreat 
we had forgotten to take with us. We should have 
been glad to have it at this moment, for as the sun 
rose higher in the heavens, our hunger grew upon us ; 
and so tantalizingly near were some two pounds of pilot 
Ijread, several boxes of canned meats, and half-a-dozen 
bottles of wine and rum. 

" How can we get that box ? " said I to Thursday for 
the tenth time. " We can't go all day without food." 

" It is almost impossible to get it up here, but it might 
be done." 



BACK TO AFRICA. 



171 



''I'll give yon a bottle of rum if you can." Thurs- 
day's eyes sparkled at the mere thouglit, as he answered, 
*'I will drop to the ground, and before the elephants 




LOOK ! 



can reach the tree from where they are now grazing, will 
fasten my girdle to the box, so that you can draw it up, 
and get back again in safety." 



172 HUNTING IN 'THE JUNGLE. 

" You would do better to have one of your companions 
go. 

"No, I want all the rum for myself." 

" As you like." 

While he was speaking he began to unwind the coco 
fibre girdle that he wore, and handed it to me, watching 
our captors grazing at a little distance. I tied a slip 
noose in the other end, and the two natives stood 
ready to heave on the line w^hen it should be attached 
to the coveted prize. Success seemed possible, though 
uncertain, as he gently slid down the trunk, on the side 
farthest from the enemy. I stood breathless, watching 
the latter, and ready to give the signal that his move- 
ments were noticed. Everything went well until he 
touched the ground, when the whole herd caught sight 
of him simultaneously, and charged upon him with 
surprising speed. 

'• Back, quick ! " I shouted, " or you are lost ! " 

Without listening to my caution he reached the box at 
a bound, raised it, passed the cord around it, and the 
natives drew it up in an instant. Then the guide turned 
to escape, but too late! The furious brutes were not 
ten paces from him, and would have pulled him down 
had he started to ascend. He was lost! We shouted 
and yelled to distract the elephants' attention, and the 
woman and her child uttered heart-rending screams, but 
in vain. 

The African stood firm, his back against the tree, with- 



BACK TO AFRICA. 1 



/o 



out arms, awaiting his fate. He had not an instant to 
Jive, when — shall I ever forget it ? — with an agility and 
strength that were marvellous, he sprang between the 
approaching giants, and in a dozen bounds was at the foot 
of one of the auxiliary trunks of our banyan and half 
way up it ! 

He had counted upon the difficulty these huge bodies 
have in turning quickly, and not in vain, for their very 
number impeded them ; and as they tried to turn, closely 
packed together, they gave Thursday the few seconds 
necessary to make good his escape, and rejoin us who 
had given him up as lost. 

This exploit raised my guide immensely in my opinion, 
for he had shown address, coolness, and strength such as 
few men possess, and I could not help pressing his hand 
with real emotion, as he stood once more beside me. 

" I hope I have earned my rum," was his first very 
practical thought and speech ! 

I handed it to him, and presented the rest of the party 
also with a bottle to drink his health. The result of the 
adventure was that the elephants never left us the rest 
of the day, and that we made a hearty breakfast that 
raised our spirits beyond caring for them or their anger, 
— such is the close relation between the stomach and 
courage. As the natives finished their rum, they hurled 
the bottles down on the elephants with all kinds of curses 
and taunts. It seemed as though the day would never 
end. But at last the sun be2:an its downward course, and 



174 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

we took rapid counsel in regard to our attempted escape. 
When the moment arrived Thursday said simply, — 

" Give me your rifle, that you may be unincumbered, 
and follow me." 

Although I had observed with care the route over 
which I knew we were to go, still, at night, I found I 
was helpless except as Thursday led me like a child. 

Our companions began to sing and clap their hands to 
drown any sound of our movements, and, as it was black 
as Egypt, not even an owl could have seen us. The noise 
was infernal, and the elephants replied with heavy, deep 
grunts. 

I seized the branch, and began to. crawl along it as 
quietly as I could behind my guide. With the woods- 
man's instinct he assisted me from tree to tree five times, 
and then we rested to see if we had been followed. You 
never heard such a racket as those negroes kept up, but 
we felt confident from the elephants' replies that they 
had not yet suspected our absence, and we renewed our 
line of march over branches growing slighter and slighter, 
imtil we felt that safety demanded our quitting them for 
firmer footing. As we dropped to the ground, we knew 
from the fainter sounds that we were at quite a respecta- 
ble distance from our starting-point, even should the ele- 
phants undertake to follow us. Cautiously we threaded 
the dense forest, in darkness so complete I could hardly 
see the indistinct outline of my guide two paces ahead of 
me. After an hour's march we came at last to the edge 



BACK TO AFRICA.. 177 

of the forest and might reasonably consider ourselves out 
of danger. Thursday assured me of this joyful fact, 
adding, — 

"And now I must return." 

*' And leave me ? " 

"Thursday must go back after his wife and child." 

"True; I had forgotten. And I?" 

" Travel straight toward the south, keeping that star 
always on your left hand, and at daybreak you will 
reach the stream we crossed yesterday and have nothing 
further to fear from wild beasts. It will then, and not 
till then, be safe to sleep." 

"All right." 

" I will join you at our last camp with everything left 
behind us in the jungle." 

" I shall not soon forget your devotion to my interests, 
Thursday, and — " 

My guide grasped my arm and drew me behind a bush. 

" I heard a twig snap," whispered he. " We are 
followed ! " 

" By elephants ? " 

" Oh, no ; we should hear them fast enough, without 
any difficulty." As he said this he imitated the note of 
a bird, clear and delicious. The same note was echoed 
by a voice not far distant, and in a moment we had the 
very welcome sight of Thursday's wife and boy coming 
out of the trees' shadow and approaching us. This, of 
course, altered our plans ; and we took up our march in 

12 



178 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

single file toward camp, well pleased at our fortunate 
escape from this dangerous locality, where we had seen 
the African elephant in his most terrible mood. 

The two natives also got off scot-free, and reported 
later at camp, where we celebrated our escape by the best 
feast our supplies afforded. 



CHAPTER IX. 



A FEW ELEPHANT STOEIES. 




E have seen one side of the elephant's nature in 
his wild state, but it is only fair to remember 
his gentleness and friendliness in captivity, 
which is really voluntary, because he might with a blow 
of his trunk annihilate his keepers and escape to his 
native jungle. In his long life he often changes his 
master, but his allegiance goes too ; and he is devoted to 
each, and figures alike as porter, wood-cutter, errand-boy, 
hunter, gladiator in fights with tigers, and artillery-man. 
I have seen, in India, elephants let out by their owners 
as choppers, working like day-laborers and returning at 
night to sleep at home, — that is, at their master's. These 
intelligent animals, armed with long axes, the use of 
which they have been taught, cut, at otherwise perfectly 
impracticable heights, the gigantic trees which are used 
in the keels of vessels, carry them to the nearest port, and 
deliver them to other elephants to pile, — a feat which 
they accomplish with the greatest regularity and with a 
strength that no number of men can equal. They work 
alone, too, without any special oversight on the part of 
the keeper, who often comes but once a day to note their 



180 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

progress ; and yet there is not a case on record where one 
of them has attempted to return to his free life in the 
forest, or rejoin his former companions enjoying them- 
selves in the neighboring ravines, while he is working 
hard on the hills above. Indeed, they grow to hate their 
untamed cousins, and fight them — and usually success- 
fully — at every o]3portunity, bearing them away in 
bondage to their masters. 

The English have made use of their enormous strength 
in all the wars in India and, more recently, in Africa, 
where without them the troops would have been helpless 
to move the artillery, even the lighter pieces, which these 
dumb allies carried bravely into action on their backs, 
while their courage under fire has been attested by special 
mention in reports from the English officers. One of 
them says : — 

" In our marches across Bengal we used elephants in the 
baggage train, so well disposed to us that, without waiting 
for a command from the keeper, if a wagon stuck, one of 
them would hurry up, put his mighty shoulder to the 
wheel, and never rest till it was rolling on smoothly again. 
Then he would return to his own proper place and duty 
in the line again. One morning, in the press of wagons 
and animals, one of the elephants was hurt by the heavy 
wheel of a cart running over his foot. I happened to be 
near, and bound it up with a towel dipped in camphorated 
brandy, and tightened the bandage as well as I could, and 
off he limped to his stable. In the afternoon I went to 




iiPi'' Miiiiiim, 



A FEW ELEPHANT STORIES. 



183 



see how he was getting on. He was lymg on a bed of 
straw ; he recognized me at once, and held out his wounded 
foot for me to see. I renewed the bandage each day ; and 




HE UELD OUT HIS 'WOUNDED FOOT FOR ME TO SEE. 



after that the grateful animal never passed my tent with- 
out a peculiar cry which he used for that occasion alone, 
and when he met me he always gently rubbed my back 



184 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

or shoulders with his trunk, uttering little sniffs of 
pleasure." 

Major Skinner, of the English Army, vouches for the 
following story, which shows on the part of the elephant 
intelligence, memory, comparison, judgment, and good- 
nature. 

Riding along a very narrow trail near Kandy, in 
Ceylon, where he happened to be stationed, he heard the 
heavy tread of an approaching elephant, uttering discon- 
tented grunts which frightened his rather nervous horse, 
and made him rear and plunge. He sa^'s : — 

'' I soon saw whence these sounds proceeded. A tame 
elephant had undertaken the difficult task of transporting 
a long girder, resting on his tusks, over the narrow road. 
Between the trees on either side there was not room for 
this to pass, and he could only advance by turning his 
head from side to side and avoiding each tree as he went. 
It was a slow business, and no wonder he complained ; but 
on seeing how his trumpetings frightened my horse, he 
ceased instantly, threw^ down his load, and pressed his 
huge body close up against tlie trees on one side of the 
road to allow us to pass. My horse trembled all over, 
and refused to move, seeing which, the elephant drew 
still farther back and tried to encourage the coward by 
a gentler note. 

"Finally the latter plucked up enough heart to dash 
by on his way, wdien the faithful elephant resumed the 
laborious errand in which we had found him engaged. 



A FEW ELEPHANT STORIES. 185 

'' This elephant had, before the campaign, been used 
as a watchman by his owner, whose estates bordered 
on a river. Marauders w^ould drop down the stream 
in their craft, and rob the gardens and orchards, and 
be off again without leaving any other trace of their 
coming than the empty trees and ravaged beds. Tired 
of losing the fruits of his labor, the owner had trained 
this elephant to perform- sentinel duty along the bank; 
and, when danger threatened, the animal would growl 
like a dog, and filling his huge trunk with water from 
the stream, would play upon the rascals like a fire- 
engine, drowning them out of their boat like rats, 
until they were glad to hoist sail and make off to 
the best of their ability." 

The art of hunting the elephant, although of most 
ancient origin, is practised to-day on a larger scale than 
ever before, because of the services which the English 
have found he can perform for them. As long as ele- 
phants were used simply to add splendor to the suite 
of a rajah, or dignity to one of the religious proces- 
sions, it sufficed to hunt single animals, capturing them 
by a decoy elephant ridden by a native, who provoked 
and held the attention of the game, while another ran 
up behind and cleverly passed a chain around one of 
his legs. Bound in this way the elephant was sure, 
under the influence of starvation, and the example of 
his former companions, to yield eventually to his captors. 
Now the country is divided into " preserves," over wdiich 



186 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

a royal officer is appointed, and immense hunting par- 
ties are made up, and whole herds captured at once ; 
although it is no easy thing to take alive and un- 
wounded an animal that has at once such strength and 
such intelligence as the elephant. It could not be done 
without the aid of other elephants, who bring their 
attachment to their masters to this high point, and 
having assisted in the capture, go still farther and in- 
struct the captives in their future duties. The trait of 
obedience is, however, rather the result of affection than 
fear, and in this regard the elephant's docility is more 
like that of the dos; than of the horse. It even leads 
them to bear the pain of the worst surgical operations, 
like the burning out with a hot iron of tumors or ulcers, 
or the taking of the most bitter medicines at the hands 
of their " approved good masters." 

The only w^ay in which the male's gentle temper can 
be spoiled is by a course of special diet of certain kinds 
of food ; and this is the means resorted to by their lesG 
gentle masters when they wish them to fight, — either 
one another, or their feudal enemy, the tiger. In India 
I was once invited by a Rajah to attend his celebration 
of the Feast of Moharem, where the principal attraction 
is the display of elephants. I accepted, of course. 

The Feast began by a tiger fight. A space some fifty 
feet square had been fenced off near the river, and we 
occupied a special " box," protected, in case of accident, 
by a bamboo network strong enough to keep the tiger 



A FEW ELEPHANT STORIES. 189 

out should the fancy strike him to turn to us for sport. 
He was loosed into the arena, around which he circled 
several times, and at last stopped directly in front of us 
and stood looking at us in a way that made me bless 
the foresight that had built the screen. But immedi- 
ately a buffalo was driven into the circle, and advanced 
slowly toward the crouching tiger, who was ready for a 
spring. Seeing this he stopped sliort, his horns low, 
snorting with anger. But the tiger paid no attention 
to him, nor to five more buffaloes which were let loose 
one after the other, treating them with sublime disdain, 
as foemen unworthy of his steel. A curious incident 
happened just then : a small dog fell into the arena 
from one of the seats, and toward him with stately 
steps the tiger stalked, without, however, any appear- 
ance of anger. The dog, frightened, ran whining round 
the edge of the enclosure, and after him the tio-er, 
faster and faster. Finally, seeing he could not escape, 
and that one or two more leaps would be his last, he 
turned and with real grit showed his teeth to his pur- 
suer. We supposed he would be crushed at a blow; 
but not at all. At the instant the tiger was about to 
spring upon him, the brute seemed to change his mind, 
and, like a cat after a mouse, crouched watching and 
playing with him. Then the Nabob ordered them to 
let in the elephant. 

The crowd were hushed in silence. Either the tieer 
must fight or be killed ingloriously. A gate opened, and 



190 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

the elephant, his keeper on his back, advanced into the 
arena. At the sight of the huge animal the tiger uttered 
a long howl, which was most evidently one of terror, 
for he sprang against the palisade several times, and 
did his best to break it down and escape. At sight of 
him the elephant became madly excited, and made 
straight at him, blocking his wild efforts at flight, 
and almost trampling him under foot, before he real- 
ized that fight was the only alternative. Then, and 
only then, he sprang upon the head of his adversary 
and endeavored to maintain his hold with claws and 
teeth. But the elephant wound his enormous trunk 
around the tiger's body, lifted him in the air, and hurled 
him, bruised and broken, down upon the ground twenty 
feet away. The tiger was half dead, and wholly help- 
less, and lay where he fell in a stupor. This exploit 
accomplished, the victor did not deign to push his 
triumph farther, but turned and saluted the Nabob in 
our box as respectfully as would a slave, and peaceably 
departed through the door by which he had entered, 
without paying any attention to the applause and cheers 
that followed him. 

The remaining festivities were then postponed until 
the next day, when, after breakfast in the garden of the 
Nabob, we adjourned to a tent on the river-bank at a 
favorite bathing-place of the elephants, where we were 
to see a fight between two of the largest of them. The 
plain was covered with a dense crowd of people, and a 



A FEW ELEPHANT STORIES. 



191 



regiment of soldiers and a squad of cavalry had been 
ordered out to do us honor, and hold the crowd back. 
The interpreter explained to us that it was not properly 




HE SPRANG UPON HIS ADVERSARY S HEAD AND HELD WITH CLATVS AND TEETH 



a fight that we were about to witness, but rather a joust, 
in which the combatants would not try to injure each 
other seriously, but simply display their strength and 



192 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

skill. The two elephants were led in by their native 
keepers, and w^ere by all odds the finest specimens I 
had ever seen. Of unusual size, with black, shining 
coats, eyes full of fire, tusks long and perfect, they 
advanced with an air of assurance that promised a 
tremendous struggle. At first they approached each 
other at a rapid pace until within a few feet, when 
they stopped and, ' at the command of their riders, 
saluted in good Marquis of Queensbury style. This 
done, their keepers lay do^vn upon their respective 
elephant's backs, and held tightly to the girdle while 
the fight began. 

The two elephants sprang upon each other with a shock 
that threw them on their hind legs, their trunks up and 
intertwined, swaying back and forth in, for the riders .at 
least, a most unpleasant way. The plucky fellows clung 
fast, however, and encouraged their favorites with voice 
and hand. The tactics of the pair seemed to be to try 
to force the weaker, or the less adroit, backward into 
the river, and after an hour of intense effort and strug- 
gle, one of the elephants had so far lost ground that he 
was compelled to jump into the river to avoid being 
thrown in. This was supposed to end the combat ; but 
his adversary insisted on following him across the river, 
in spite of the united efforts of the Nabob's servants 
and tamers. The conflict was evidently to be renewed 
on the other bank, where the first animal had taken a 
favorable position, from which for fully thirty minutes 



A FEW ELEPHANT STORIES. 193 

he prevented the other from landing, thrusting him back, 
at every attempt, into the water. The light was de- 
clared a draw, and the prize — a load of sugar-cane, of 
which they are very fond — was divided between them. 

There were several other combats of a like nature, in 
one of whicJi the elephants indulged in spouting immense 
streams of water at each other, but not different in the 
main from the one I have described. In the eveninu;, 
when the crowd had departed, we were invited to watch 
a curious fishing in the river, with otters. These ani- 
mals, as clever as dogs, dive into the water, and, as 
they are taught, either drive the fish toward the nets, or 
help bring the latter ashore, handling the fish with their 
jaws without hurting 'them, or breaking them at all. 

The whole performance, lighted up by the flaring 
torches, is most picturesque. On leaving him the next 
day, the Nabob presented me with two beautiful ele- 
phants, and upon one or the other of them I rode 
many miles through the jungle. Of one of these fine 
animals he told me an interesting story. 

He was originally the property of an old Indian, rich 
in gold and in a young and lovely wife. The elephant 
was a great favorite of the latter, and, if one can use tlie 
term of so large a beast, was a family pet. Now the old 
Brahman died soon after his marriage, and the priests of 
his religion endeavored to convince his widow that she 
must sacrifice her life on the funeral pyre, in accordance 
with the dreadful practice of their church. They held 

13 



194 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

Up before her Ijright eyes the extraordinary rewards that 
she would receive in the next world, and the divine pleas- 
ures that awaited her in the halls of Brahma. Besides 
this, she had the surety of a sad life did she refuse to 
offer herself a willing victim to her belief ; for a widow can- 
not remarry in India, and she lives with her own family 
in the greatest poverty and distress, because there is a 
superstition that the house is unlucky where a widow 
dwells, and her relatives give her barely enough to keep 
body and soul together. For this same reason they are 
nearly always as anxious to have their widowed relative 
burned as are the fanatic priests themselves. But in 
spite of the pressure brought to bear, upon her, this girl 
refused to commit sutty, as it is called ; and the priests 
were forced to use drugs in her food, under the influence 
of which she was induced to yield her consent. When 
she returned to herself she found the priests rejoicing over 
a consent of which she remembered nothing, and saw 
with horror their preparations for the funeral procession 
and pyre. Suddenly an idea occurred to her ; and she 
assumed a willing and inspired air, even offering to grace 
the procession with her husband's stately elephants, on 
one of which, arrayed in her most gorgeous dress and 
jewels, she would ride. This pretended conversion was 
announced to the people as a new miracle and sign of 
Brahma's approval, and the young widow, from being 
scorned and insulted, became the heroine of the hour. 
As the moment for the last ceremonies approached, she 



A FEW ELEPHANT STORfES. 195 

held her favorite elephant trapped in all the splendor she 
could muster, decorating him with the silks and jewels 
she herself could not wear, and caressing his silky trunk 
until he whinnied with pleasure. Mounted on his back, 
she led the procession, followed by the corpse in the 
funeral palanquin and the paid mourners weeping and 
rendintr the air with mock lamentations. 

Children threw flowers along the road, and nautch girls 
sang and danced beside it. The coolies had piled high the 
fiery couch, and added quantities of oil to make it ])urn 
brighter and hotter around the withered old flesh and the 
fresh, warm life that were to be consigned to it together. 
As soon as the cortege reached the pyre, the musicians 
began their doleful playing, and the priests came for- 
ward to receive the victim. The moment had come I 

As she did not descend from her seat, the priests made 
a sign to the keeper, who ordered his elephant to kneel, 
and then offered Mariana his hand to help her down. 
But she declined hi foto, clinging to the elephant's girdle 
and uttering the most piercing shrieks and praying my 
elephant to save her. 

When the priests saw they had been tricked, they 
rushed toward Mariana furiously, fearing to lose their 
victim ; but it was too late. The elephant seized the 
Brahman leading the wretches, lifted him into the air 
with his trunk, and dashed him down senseless. In vain 
the keeper called him in tones of entreaty and command. 
He was past control, and knew onlv that his beloved 



196 



HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 



mistress was in peril. Springing to his feet, he opened 
a passage through the crowd with tremendous blows of 
his trunk, before which one or two Brahmans fell at each 




HE WAS PAST CONTROL. 



stroke, crushed and injured. It became a perfect rout. 
Thirty or more were killed or wounded, and many more 
trodden under foot. Mariana was saved ! 



A FEW ELEPHANT STORIES. 197 

As soon as she reached the open country she took the 
road to the nearest English settlement, and my Nabob's 
was the first house where she rested in her flight. In 
gratitude for his immense kindness to her, she gave him 
her protector, the elephant ; and he, with the faithfulness 
I have described, transferred his allegiance to his new 
master and then to me. Mariana, meanwliile, reached 
the district magistrate, a hundred miles farther on, in 
whose family she remained and with whom she returned 
to England. This is the only case I know, by the way, 
of a Brahman voluntarily going into exile. 

The elephant plays an important part in other native 
festivals besides this one of the Moharem, and I have seen, 
in a sacred procession in India at the feast of Juggernaut, 
over two hundred of the native devotees called fakirs 
throw themselves down beneath the white elephants, 
where they were sure of being crushed under their 
ponderous feet. 

T have already spoken of the intelligence and memory 
of the elephant. In Ceylon I once saw a fine herd of 
fifteen elephants, used by the chief magistrate as his 
hunting stud, lying under the spreading trees around his 
house, as is their custom. A sudden thunder-storm came 
up, with the vivid flashes and tremendous claps of thunder 
of that latitude ; when the elephants, instead of taking 
refuge still closer under the trees, at the first flash moved 
quickly out into the open away from shelter, stood stoi- 
cally through the down-pour, and as soon as the rain was 



198 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

over returned to the shade. I was greatly surprised, 
knowing how the animals disliked cold rain-water, but 
my friend the judge quickly enlightened me. Several 
years before, one of his hunting elephants had been struck 
by lightning while standing under a tree in the park, and 
ever since the herd had gone through the tactics I had 
observed, at the first indications of a thunder-storm, and 
had taught all the new-comers the same habit of safety. 
This faculty of comnumicating ideas is well established. 
I remember once trying to cross a stream on the back of 
a favorite elephant, when he and all the others in the 
party, but he first, absolutely refused to put foot into the 
water. After reasoning with him and punishing him, 
and all in vain, my driver grumbling all the while at the 
impossibility of altering his mind. I recalled that a year 
before at this YQvy ford he had hurt his foot on a sharp 
stone in the river-bed. That he should have remembered 
it was very singular, but more so that he could make 
his companions share his fear of repeating the accident ; 
but that both these tilings happened is certain, for by 
riding a few hundred yards down the stream to another 
ford, we had no difficult}- in getting them to carry us 
over without special urging. 

In the Indian colonies, especially on the coast of Mala- 
bar, where one travels days through imbroken forest and 
jungle meeting only wild Ijeasts, the postal service is done 
by a native mounted on the most intelligent and fastest 
travelling elephant obtainable. Many of the stories told 



A FEW ELEPHANT STORIES. 



201 



of these mail-carriers sound too remarkable to believe ; 
but I remember, when the cholera was prevalent one 
year, that the rider mounted on one of these government 




HE SET OUT AT A TREMENDOUS PACE. 



despatch animals died en route at a miserable little vil- 
lage a day's journey and more from his destination. The 
chief of the village, recognizing from the badge on the 
forehead of the elephant that he was in the government 



202 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

service, tried to get him to accept one of his own riders 
in place of the dead man, hut he could not accomplish 
it, for if any one even approached the body or the de- 
spatches he broke into uncontrollable fury, and effectually 
prevented any interference with them. 

Seeing that his efforts were of no use, the chief let him 
have his own way, and simply ordered two mounted 
soldiers to follow him. Taking his former rider and the 
mail-bags across his neck, he set out at a tremendous 
pace for his original destination, where he arrived without 
stop in twelve hours, leaving the horsemen far behind, 
ride as they might. 

Later this same faithful animal was attacked by an 
ophthalmia which was pronounced incurable by the Eng- 
lish veterinary surgeons, and sold to the Brahman priests 
of a rich monastery near by. These skilful men cured 
him so quickly as to suggest the idea of a conspiracy to 
aid them in getting so valuable an acquisition at a low 
price. At any rate, they made capital use of him, sending 
him far and near within a radius of thirty leagues with 
a bag hung at his neck, into which he put everything 
given him, like a good mendicant friar; and what he 
received he knew well how to protect from all comers. 

One day I saw him pumping water into the trough at 
which the animals belonging to the friars drank, — for this 
was one of his regular duties, — but in an unusually impa- 
tient way that attracted my attention to the cause. And 
no wonder, for some mischievous rascal had put a large 



A FEW ELEPHANT STORIES. 



205 



log under tlie end of the trough, and as fast as the water 
flowed in at one end it flowed out at the other! He 
seemed greatly pleased to see me, probably thinking I 




THE SKELETONS OF HIS ANCESTORS. 



could solve his ditiflculty; but I preferred to stand by and 
see him get out of it as best he could by himself. After 
several attempts to fill the inclined trough, and an equal 
number of pauses for reflection and grunting, he had an 



206 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

inspiration. Winding his trunk around the trough at 
the raised end, he hfted it still higher, and with his foot 
pushed the log from under, replacing the trough at its 
proper angle in triumph and pumping it full with evident 
satisfaction. 

Indeed, this animal only lacked speech to be quite 
human. The same fellow who played this unhandsome 
trick, from which my friend had come out with such flying 
colors, was always bothering the elephant, and finally this 
bad treatuient grew to such proportions that even this 
gentle animal's patience came to an end. Although he 
might easily have killed the offender with a blow from 
his mighty trunk, he preferred to take, revenge in practical 
jokes, like crowding the man into a marsh when dressed 
in his best, or drenching him to the skin with a torrent 
of muddy water spouted from the creek, or dropping him 
gently into the centre of a cactus-plant ! His ingenuity 
in planning and success in executing these little annoy- 
ances were so great that the unhappy man was actually 
driven from the monastery, and sought employment 
elsewhere. 

It is singular how widely distributed the elephant has 
been, and in how very few countries he can now be found. 
The skeletons of his ancestors are preserved in many of 
our museums, and their bones are whitening almost within 
the polar circle, where the whalers often find them, coated 
with ice, their tusks adding to the poor sailors' prize- 
money. 



CHAPTER X. 

HUNTING THE EHINOCEROS. 




FTER the elephant, the rhinoceros is the largest 
animal on the globe ; and I have followed him 
along the great rivers, through the marshes 
and dense forests of Southern Africa, India, Java, and 
Sumatra, where alone he is now found, although, like 
the elephant, he was once much more common. There 
are two varieties living, — one with one horn, the other 
with two ; and it is to the latter class that the African 
rhinoceros belongs. His eyes are small and deep-set ; 
his horns — one in front of the other — are of different 
size and conical in shape, and not attached to the bone 
of the nose, but simply to the skin, which is almost 
hairless except at the tail, and along the ears. He 
lives in the most untracked solitudes, near the lar^e 
rivers, and especially where a variety of acacia grows 
of which he is very fond. Both classes of rhinoceros 
are, like all vegetable-eating animals, fairly peaceable, 
and he never attacks without provocation ; but when 
his blood is up he becomes blindly furious, and his 
strength and ferocity are without bounds. The deep 
grunting noise which he makes ordinarily then becomes 

14 



210 



HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 



a shrill, piercing note, and he rushes rapidly straight 
ahead, overturning every obstacle, uprooting trees, 
ploughing the ground with his terrible tusks, and vent- 




THE ONE-HORNED BHINOCEROS. 



ing his rage on whatever he meets. Covered as he is 
with a tough and little sensitive hide, he fears neither 
the rifle-ball nor the claws of the tiger and lion, and 
even has been said to attack the mighty elephant. 



HUNTING THE RHINOCEROS. 211 

disembowelling him with his tusk at a single blow. If, 
however, his first attack is unsuccessful, the elephant 
immediately crushes him with his greater strength and 
weight, and kills him before he can make a second 
lunge. 

Although of little intelligence, he is sometimes domes- 
ticated and his unreasoning strength turned to use about 
tlie farm. 

The natives are very fond of rhinoceros flesh, and to 
obtain it, take advantage of the animal's slowness in 
turning, creeping silently into his lair, approaching him 
from behind, and, before he can turn to gore them, 
burying a spear in his heart. Should the blow miss 
its aim, the hunters, who practise this dangerous sport 
in couples, spring upon trained horses that they have 
in readiness, and are off like the wind. 

The animal's enormous appetite and thirst prevents 
his staying long in any one spot, and only then, where 
the food is very abundant, as he consumes two hun- 
dred pounds a day. Besides the flesh, the horns are 
greatly valued by the superstitious natives, and cups 
made from them are supposed to render harmless any 
liquor they may contain, and knives and swords with 
horn handles are believed never to miss their man. 
From the heart's blood is prepared a sacred philter cur- 
ing fevers, serpent bites, and wounds received in battle ; 
while from the teeth and nails are made rosaries which 
protect from spirits, wizards, and even death itself. In 



212 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

Siam the horns are so highly prized that the king, 
wishing to especially honor Louis XIV., sent him six, 
as the rarest treasures he possessed. 

There is one point on which naturalists cannot agree 
in regard to him, and that is whether in Ahyssinia he 
is really used to replace the ox in field labor. How- 
ever, this much I know, that there is a vast country 
south of Egypt and bordering on the Nile, inhabited 
by an ancient race which has clung to life through 
all the vicissitudes that have visited this continent. 
Driven back, first by the invaders from the South, and 
then by the conquerors of Egypt, they owe their preser- 
vation to the rocky deserts among which they retired, 
and over the possession of which no one cared to dis- 
pute. They live between the first and second cataracts 
of the Nile, and have preserv-ed many of the charac- 
teristics of the old Egyptian type. Their figures are 
tall and elegant, their limbs well formed, but generally 
slender, their coloring delicate, and the slight amount 
of hair upon their faces is more than compensated for 
by the bushy growth upon the top of their heads. This 
silky covering is made an even greater protection against 
the hot sun of their country by their habit of dressing 
it heavily with a pomade in the shape with which the 
old Egyptian monuments have made us familiar. Here 
the rhinoceros certainly fulfils the mission of the ox, as 
I can testify from actual observation in this home of 
the lion, the panther, the giraffe, the bear, and the 



HUNTING THE RHINOCEROS. 



215 



zebra, and so many other animals, besides reptiles 
and birds, interesting to a natm^alist. I had hired a 
dahabieh at Cairo, and, with my faithful Thursday as 




THE RHINOCEROS FULFILS THE MISSION OF THE OX. 

servant, joined another boat bound up the Nile. I 
planned to go at once as far as Assouan, where the 
first cataract of the Nile is, and where the country 



216 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

of the Barabras begins ; and that from that pomt I 
would be governed by circumstances. It is seventy- 
five leagues or so from Cairo to Assouan, and travel- 
ling as we did, only by day, it tools: us a month, — one 
of the pleasantest of my life. The shores are lined 
with ruins, broken monuments, temples, and palaces of 
the Pharaohs, that fill the most unimaginative with 
delightful dreams of the past. 

One day I was taking a nap in the comfortable cabin 
of my craft, when I heard loud cries of native children 
on the bank, and at the same moment Thursday came 
running in to call me on deck. 

"What's all this row about?" grumbled I. 

" Come and see the wicked beast with a tusk on the 
end of his nose ! " 

I left the boat by the plank that connected us with 
shore, to find a rhinoceros led by a party of Abyssinians, 
who made him perform antics like a trained dog. He 
would stand on his hind legs, lie down, get up, and dance 
at command, grunting with apparent admiration of his 
own accomplishments. His keepers assured me, through 
an interpreter, that it was not an uncommon sight in 
their own country, and that they had put the rhinoceros 
to all sorts of more useful employments. 

It was on this trip that I had a narrow escape from 
falling into the jaws of "the river horse," — hippopota- 
mus, one of the largest of mammals. This animal can 
never have been very common on the lower part of the 



HUNTING THE RHINOCEROS. 219 

river, for you do not see his easily recognized figure 
among the hieroglyphics with which the temples are 
filled, between the Delta and the first cataract. Nor 
does Roman history often mention them in the games or 
triumphs of the emperors, which is singular, when tigers, 
lions, and elephants figure so often. But farther up the 
river you meet him still, usually swimming very low in 
the water, with simply his nose, eyes, and ears above 
its surface, and followed by his mate, — for they travel 
usually in couples. But on the day to which I refer, 
this number was increased to three, — and huge speci- 
mens they were, — sunning themselves on the left bank 
of the river, and on the back of the female rested a young 
one, uglier, if possible, than its fond parents. We were 
six of us, only one a native, rowing along the shore in a 
skiff ; and one of my companions, a Frenchman, with the 
careless thoughtlessness of his race, raised his rifle and let 
drive at the youngster. There was a tremendous splash- 
ing and racket, and the water for yards was stirred up 
by the four mighty bodies diving into it simultaneously. 
A cry of warning came from our guide, who began jab- 
bering away in his own lingo at a great rate. 

"What's the beggar raising all this row about?" asked 
the Frenchman. 

" Pull for your life ! " shouted I. " You '11 have the 
whole party round us in a minute." 

The boat was a poor one for speed, and we were still 
a long way from the nearest point of land when the 



220 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

snouts of tlie hippopotami came to the surface within 
pistol-shot of the stern. In a moment they were around 
us, threatening to crush the thwarts of our craft and 
make two mouthfuls of the whole party. We dropped 
our oars — for flight was out of the question — and seized 
our guns. Placing my barrel almost against the eye of 
the largest, T emptied both barrels into his head, and he 
sank without a gurgle into the muddy water. Meanwhile 
the other end of the boat had been less fortunate. The 
remaining male had fastened his massive jaws in the 
gunwale and was crunching it like paper, while the 
Frenchman, the cause of all the danger, was ineffectually 
belaboring his head with an oar, his empty gun being, of 
course, useless. 

Luckily for us, one of the party had a loaded rifle and 
some presence of mind left, and to these hippopotamus 
number two reluctantl}" yielded, and went to join his 
friend at the bottom of the muddy river. It is really 
curious how easily and quickly so huge an animal will 
die under modern weapons, when you remember what 
difficulty the ancients experienced in killing large game, 
and how an entire army was needed to cope with an ele- 
phant or hippopotamus. But to return to our still rather 
unpleasant predicament : before the female could reach 
us, we were all reloaded and ready for her. She seemed 
to realize this, for, without waiting for our cordial recep- 
tion, she turned tail and made for the other shore, leaving 
a wake behind her like a harbor steamboat. Reaching 



HUNTING THE RHINOCEROS. 



223 



a long tongue of land near the farther bank, she waded 
through the shallows and across it, disturbing the croco- 




DRIVING THE CKOCODILES INTO THE WATER. 



diles sunning thereon, and driving them into the water 
beyond, into which she followed them and was lost to our 
sight. And not one of the party seemed to care ! 



CHAPTER XI. 



LIONS AND TIGERS. 




NCE Hanno, Emperor of Carthage, on returning 
from a campaign covered with the trophies of 
victory, glittering in gold and silver, stood 
before his captives. There were five hundred of them, 
naked, chained together, bowed under the yokes which 
ground into their shoulders, standing silent before their 
master. Between him and them was a blazing brazier. 
Other slaves, older in years of servitude, were heating 
the irons with which the mark of slavery was to be 
branded in the quivering flesh of the captives. 

"Stop!" said he, with an imperious gesture. "Let 
half of the beasts stand on my right, and half on my 
left. Now, let those on my left get together the ma- 
terial and build me a palace more magnificent than 
any in Carthage ; and those on my right, away with 
them to the desert, and let them bring me home young 
lions — scores of them, and quickly." 

They were free ! — two hundred and fifty men. Under 
guards they departed for the southern part of the prov- 
ince, where they laid skilfully arranged traps for the 
" King of the Desert." They lay in ambush, armed 



LIONS AND TIGERS. 



225 



with spear and arrow ; and when the old lions fell into 
the pitfalls, they rushed upon the young, and by heroic 
struggles, body to body and limb to limb, captured the 




HE AND HIS SUITE APPLAUD THEIR BLOOD-THIRSTY FEROCITY. 



means to freedom. What feverishly anxious nights they 
must have passed ! what long, hot days ! If one of the 
lions only was taken, and the other returned while 

15 



226 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

they were fighting the young, the odds became terrible 
against the would-be captors. A hundred were killed 
and many more wounded ; but eighty young lions were 
brought back to please the powerful emperor, wlio put 
them in a magnificent cage he had had built especially 
for his pets. Then, turning to the unfortunate slaves, 
he said disdainfully, — 

" Here is excellent food for my lions ! " 

Not a day passed but he and his suite were present 
at his favorites' feast on human flesh, to watch their 
cat-like gracefulness, and applaud their blood-thirsty 
ferocity. As they grew larger the emperor had their 
teeth filed down and their claws cut, and the trainers 
put into the cage to teach them docility and prepare 
them for his own royal coming. In a few wecKs he 
was able to spend hours in the pleasure of their com- 
pany, his own tastes and passions proving a bond of 
sympathy with these fierce mates. More than this, in a 
glistening chariot drawn by twenty of the handsomest 
lions, he drove through the rich quarters of Carthage 
carrying terror before him, and handling his curious 
team with a firm rein, while he smiled to see his sub- 
jects fly in fear at his approach. From these wild drives 
he returned to his palace satisfied with such glory. 

Meanwhile the Senate and people met, and, after brief 
deliberation, decreed that Hanno should be exiled, under 
the pretext that he who could subjugate the lion might 
think of doing the same to the freeborn citizen. 



LIONS AND TIGERS. 227 

Some years later, Mark Antony renewed the fancy 
of the African monarch. He showed himself to the 
Roman peoj)le in a chariot drawn by Numidian lions. 
Everything about this man was African, — his manners, 
his table, his mistress, his death even. Once acclimated 
in the Rome of the Coesars, the king of the desert 
was in congenial surroundings, well lodged and well 
fed. It was in the arena of the Circus Maximus, less 
hot but more deadly than the African sands, that his 
strength was in future to be employed. Pompey was 
just made consul for the second time, and, in celebra- 
tion of the event, he held a Venatio in that monster circus, 
where four hundred thousand spectators could be com- 
fortably accommodated. Pompey himself presides in his 
private box, and at a signal from him, the gladiators, 
in national costume, wearing simply a glaive, and carry- 
ing a long spear, are introduced, to the sound of music. 
With them come a crowd of augurs, extemporizing 
on the Q-ood or evil fortunes in store for the warriors. 
Meanwhile the long procession is moving around the 
podium in honor of the twelve protecting deities. This 
first ceremony having been duly accomplished, and the 
customary salutes given the consul, as master of the 
games, the cages are opened. Then, to the applause and 
shouts of the people, fiercer, as Varro says, than the 
animals themselves, six hundred lions rush from the ten 
dens. They come with a confident air, sure of them- 
selves and their reception, and divide, on opposite sides 



228 



HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 



of the arena, into two camps, nearly equal in nimiber. 
A shout like tlie roar of the sea, half smothered, is 
uttered here and there by the more impatient gladia- 




UIPPOl'OTAMI. 



tors, but most of them stand watching and taking the 
measure of the opponent they have selected. The spec- 
tators hang upon their every movement, with beating 



LIONS AND TIGERS. 229 

hearts and panting breath. The actors are holdmg their 
audience spellbound in suspense ! 

Gradually the combatants approach, and, with a bound, 
engage in a terrible struggle. At the first shock the 
weakest bite the dust. Drunk with blood, the rest vent 
their rage upon the nearest foe or friend. To see them 
tear and bite, one would imagine they were revenging the 
murder of a friend or dearly loved mate. They seize one 
another by the throat ; every muscle strains as they rend 
each other in pieces. It is frightful ! It is one continued 
roar, lit up, like a thunder-cloud, by the piercing cries of 
the w^ounded and the mad shouts of encouragement from 
the people. The dead bodies strew the arena, crimsoned 
with blood and whitened with froth, while dying glances 
are cast toward the pitiless benches, wdiere every Roman 
has selected his favorite to praise if he dies well, to curse 
him if he does not. 

The applause dies away, and a rapt and concentrated at- 
tention shows itself on every cruel face. But twenty lions 
remain ! Suddenly from all quarters comes the cry, — 

" The elephants ! Bring in the elephants ! " 

Once more the sound of grating doors is heard, and the 
new champions enter the lists, swinging their trunks, and 
with angry eyes scanning the lower benches. Which 
will conquer in this final strife ? The elephants crush by 
their simple weight ; the lions depend on their quicker 
movements and sharp fangs. You hear the cracking of 
broken bones, the spurting of blood, the sickening death- 



230 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

rattle. The ground is jDiled with dead and dying. The 
elephants can hardly stand, and the lions have retreated 
into one corner. 

Suddenly the leader of the elephants reopens the fight. 
With a rush as irresistible as the tides, he charges upon 
the largest lion, and seizing him around the middle with 
his mighty trunk, he lifts him high as the tribunes' seats, 
and hurls him down a lifeless mass aixiong his friends 
again. Instantly they leap at hazard upon the heads of 
their foes, and fasten their teeth and claws in any soft 
spot they can find, only to be crushed against the side 
of the arena by the agonized elephants. And now, into 
this nearly equal struggle, comes a third enemy — man ! 
A band of gladiators attack elephant and tiger alike with 
their redoubtable swords, avoiding the maddened beasts, 
and dealing deadly blows to right and left. The victory 
evidently will be theirs, when suddenly the elephants, 
wild with pain, turn, like bulls, upon the barriers which 
protect the cruel spectators ! They wish to try their 
strength with the cowards who have caused this needless 
slaughter. A panic ensues. Even Pompey grows pale 
as he sees the terrible vengeance with which his brutal 
subjects are threatened by his less brutal brutes. Human 
blood is evidently to run in the sands already dyed deep 
in gore, when, at a fortunate moment, a handful of slaves 
reinforces the gladiators, and the danger is past. A great 
sigh of relief goes up from the circus, and the enjoyment 
of the day is complete! 



LIONS AND TTGERS. 233 

These disgraceful spectacles lasted in Rome for four 
hundred years, and resulted in the butchery of over 
one hundred thousand lions, besides tigers and elephants 
to an equal number. Persia, Asia Minor, and Arabia 
were delivered from these dangerous wild animals, and 
it is now very difficult to study the habits, especially of 
the first, except in menageries and, wild, in the south of 
India, Algeria, and Arabia. It was in the latter country 
that I had an adventure that proved conclusively to my 
mind the curious lack of maternal instinct in the lion, 
in which respect, as in so many others, this overestimated 
animal compares unfavorably with the elephant, — the 
real king of beasts. 

One fine September morning, before sunrise, I left the 
charming village of Sa'ida, a favorite resort of Arabians, 
accompanied by two Arab horsemen devoted to my service. 
We were mounted on superb horses, — types of those for 
w^hich the country is famous, — and travelled at a break- 
neck pace. The river, which flows from the high plateaus 
toward which we were riding, makes a sudden turn 
through the range of mountains just above the village 
to which it gives its name, and flows deep below in a 
gorge covered in with vines and laurel blooms. After 
riding a regular steeple-chase for fully an hour, we were 
obliged to proceed at a slower pace, as the soil became 
more sandy and the sun hotter. At last we were brought 
to a stand-still by the heat, and decided to rest in the 
shade of one of the groups of trees that here and there 



234 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

dotted the desert. One of my companions was telling 
an interminable story worthy of the Arabian Nights, 
when suddenly our horses ceased their pasture, tossing 
their heads with distended nostrils, and showing by the 
trembling of their muscles that some large enemy that 
they feared was not far away. 

In an instant we were in the saddle, ready for anything, 
with our guns lying across the necks of our horses. We 
rode them behind a group of rocks a little farther on, and 
lay in ambush to see what was approaching. I stood up 
in my stirrups, but could not discern a movement any- 
where in the bushes ; but after an hour of tedious waiting 
in the hot sun, a tremendous roar, followed by sharp 
whines and angry growls, came from the little oasis we 
had just left. Fifty paces from us appeared two lions, 
a male and a female. It was more than we had hoped 
for, and, in spite of a hunter's courage, I confess I felt 
a not unwarranted nervousness. To be sure, we were 
three to their two, but even that consolation was almost 
immediately taken away from us ! The female lay on a 
couch of leaves, and near her stood her lover, caressing 
her in true feline style, when, with a roar like the ocean, 
a tremendous male sprang from the thicket and stood 
with quivering tail and angry eyes before his rival. He 
was the stronger of the two, but the first did not hesitate ; 
and at a kind of signal cry from the fair one, they fell 
upon one another in fearful fashion. Each tried to throw 
the other off his feet upon the ground to bite him. Their 



LIONS AND TIGERS. 



235 



claws buried in each other's sides drew blood at every 
blow. By a feint full of grace and agility the smaller 
lion evaded the embrace of his enemy and sunk his fangs 




NEAR HER STOOD HER LOVER, CARESSING HER. 



deep in his flanks. Over and over they rolled, and each 
movement brought them nearer us. We had all we could 
do to hold our horses, and at last, at a given signal, three 



236 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

rifles cracked, followed by terrible roars, and the two lions 
fell side by side, dead. The female sprang to her feet to 
the rescue of her lovers, but her second bound was her last, 
and she too joined "the greater number" and lay beside 
her Eomeo. My two Arabs proceeded to skin the prizes, — 
all very fine specimens, and one of them of singularly 
large size, — and to dress the favorite parts for supper. I 
must confess, to my shame, that I never admired the 
flavor or texture of lion steaks, and I turned into the 
thicket to find something more to my taste. Along the 
river I shot a brace of ducks and a superb grebe which 
I was carrying back toward camp, when, in a large fissure 
in a calcareous rock, I saw three young lions on a bed of 
leaves. They were lying across one another, like kittens, 
and were evidently quite well grown. I climbed down 
into the crevice, and, what was my astonishment, found 
them all dead, — strangled, either by the mother, to 
whom, in her new loves, they had proved an annoy- 
ance, or by the father, in a sudden burst of anger. 
We carried them out of their nest, and their skins 
added to the already large load with which we set out 
again for Saida the next morning. 

The tiger, to whose rarity I have above referred, is 
to my thinking a more royal beast than the lion, for 
what he loses in size and brute strength, he more than 
makes up in grace, agility, and address. That this is 
generally accepted in countries where he lives is proved 
by the adjective " royal " which is always coupled with 



LIONS AND TIGERS. 239 

his name ; but it is an adjective uttered with terror, 
and not respect; it is the royalty of the tyrant, and 
not the king. To him women and children even are 
not sacred, and he sacrifices them with truly Homeric 
carnage. Like a wolf in the sheepfold he enters the 
houses of some of the native villages, killing for 
the mere pleasure of seeing and tasting warm blood, 
like that king of old who killed two hundred chickens 
that he might have a perfect soup ! Caring only for 
the freshest-killed meat he disdains anything else, and 
when hunger torments him again he rushes to new 
hecatombs. Like all the cat family, he never thinks of 
the morrow, but, in real Bohemian fashion, lives for 
to-day only. 

In one of these little Indian villages, where even yet 
fire-arms are a cause of wonder and envy, a large man- 
eating tiger — Doo-lu-Shad-uee, in their lingo — had for 
several nights in succession visited the different houses, 
and hardly a family but mourned the loss of some 
member of its circle. The tiger carried his audacity 
so far as to come in broad daylight, and, like a wolf 
in the fold, entered the houses while the men were in 
the fields, and killed right and left. 

I was in the neighborhood, and hearing of it, took 
Thursday and my two best rifles, and went to the na- 
tives' aid. These poor devils had relied on their sor- 
cerer's incantations to avert the evil spirit ; and he was 
now at his wits' end, and glad to see us, you may be 



240 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

sure. I have always respected a man's religious opin- 
ions ; and I resolved, if possible, while ridding the coun- 
try of a monster, to do it in such a way as to reflect 
the greatest credit on the native beliefs, especially as 
I saw that the priest's lack of success was appreciated 
by the natives, and that they were evidently losing con- 
fidence in superhuman aid, preferring to trust to our 
rifle-barrels as a stronger stafl: in the difiiculty than the 
religion in which every one should trust. 

How to arrange it was the great question. The ani- 
mal had tasted human blood, and was sure to return. 
The very night before, while the incantations were going 
on that were to free the village from his evil spirit, the 
tiger had suddenly appeared in their very midst, fasten- 
ing upon two of the chiefs at his first bound, and, in 
spite of their struggles and their friends' spears, he had 
carried one of them off, leaving the other disembowelled 
on the ground. 

At last an idea flashed upon me. I bought a fine, 
healthy bull of one of the Indians, and at night, accom- 
panied by my guide and the sorcerer, led him out to the 
edge of the clearing, beyond the last hut of the village, 
and tied him to a stout bamboo, on the side of the 
road a dozen paces or less from one of the priest's 
pools of hallowed water, with which at regular in- 
tervals he had surrounded the village. Into this basin 
I poured a few drops from a flask I carried, — it is 
needless to say not of brandy, — and then drew my 




H 



LIONS AND TIGERS. 243 

companions into a natural hiding-place behind a lot of 
water plants not unlike sugar-cane. I gave Thursday 
two rounds of ammunition, but cautioned him under 
no circumstances to fire without explicit orders from 
me when and how to do so. We had lain nearly an 
hour in this pleasant spot, drinking in malaria and 
marsh fever, when the tiger appeared. It was a beau- 
tiful moonlight night, and we could see him advancing 
at a stately pace, his wide black bands moving rapidly 
enough to give him the appearance of being entirely 
brown, just as the quick turning of a colored disk 
leaves only a wdiite impression to the eye. He came 
with head up, a superb sight (see frontispiece), and when 
ten yards from us scented us, as well as the bull, 
and paused, evidently torn with conflicting desires, and 
uncertain how best to gratify his insatiable stomach, 
gorged with human blood from over forty victims the 
night before. His lips parted, showing a set of sharp, 
ugly teeth ; his skin wrinkled, especially over his fore- 
head ; his nostrils quivered, distending to their widest 
at the prospect of such delicacies ; and his eyes gleamed 
with cruel anticipation. It seemed, lying there within 
one of his bounds, as though he took a long time to 
decide. At length he crouched ready to spring, but 
whether upon the bull or us it was impossible yet to 
tell. My gun was at my shoulder, the barrel pointed 
between those wicked eyes. There was a moment of 
intense suspense. The poor bull tried to break away 



244 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

from its chain, and failing miserably, uttered a heart- 
rending sound, and lowered his horns toward the tiger 
to ward off death for a little, at least. The tiger drew 
himself together like a steel spring, and bounded upon 
him with such force that he threw him upon his side ; 
then, climbing upon his massive shoulders, the cruel 
beast opened his throat with the precision of a butcher, 
and then lay flat on his stomach, in the midst of his 
feast. The bull made ineffectual efforts to roll over 
and smother his assassin, but the latter was not to be 
shaken off. The blood poured into his thirsty throat 
in great gulps ; it was frightful to see. The tiger 
revelled in delight, and seemed to long to be able to 
swallow more quickly. One cannot conceive such vo- 
racity. He had opened the stomach of the now pas- 
sive bull, and absolutely swam in blood, tearing off 
bits of smoking flesh here and there, in a terrible 
frenzy, drunk with pleasure, and feverish with a name- 
less lust. 

Once cold, the body lay neglected ; and the monster 
turned to us ! Could he be hungry after such a feast 
of Sardanapalus ? Probably not. In fact, we saw him 
advancing slowly, his tongue hanging out, his eyes 
heavy, his gait almost staggering, toward the pool of 
holy water, which, when he reached, he buried his hot 
head and flanks in its refreshing water, wallowing like 
a " river horse " in its coolness. I could not help laugh- 
ing aloud at the success of my plan, and my companions 



LIONS AND TIGERS. 247 

looked at me in terror, thinking I had lost my senses 
under the last half-hour's excitement. 

As the poison I had poured into the pool began to 
affect the beast, he uttered several piercing yet half- 
strangled cries, and, with a few rapid contortions, fell 
over dead. 

The next morning the whole village assembled to do 
us honor, and express their admiration of our prowess ; 
but, finding our guns had not been discharged, and that 
it was at the sacred pool that the ''man-eater" fell, 
they experienced that religious terror to which unedu- 
cated races are so susceptible, and bowed before the 
priest, whom they found mightier than the beasts of 
the forest. This feeling was encouraged by my giving 
him the skin and teeth of the tiger, — the former meas- 
uring four yards from nose to tail, — and we left them 
performing one of their curious dances in honor of 
their all-puissant deities. 

They tell a queer story in India of an Englishman 
who came out to add a tiger's head of a certain size 
to his already large collection. He sought a district 
renowned for its immense tigers, armed simply with a 
long sharp dagger like those formerly carried in Venice, 
and a curious-shaped travelling box. When the latter 
was opened, it proved to contain a full suit of plate 
armor ! 

Clothed in steel from head to foot, dao-wr in hand, 
this — to say the least — original hunter walked at night. 



248 



HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 



like Hamlet's father on the platform, along the shore 
of a pond where game came to drink. On the second 
night a huge tiger sprang upon him from behind, and 




THE TIGER STRAINED ITS JAWS ON THIS MAN OF IRON. 



felled him at a blow. Tbe cool Englishman lay per- 
fectly still, feigning to be dead, while the tiger broke 
its claws and strained its jaws on this man of iron ! 



LIONS AND TIGERS. 249 

Finally, seeing just the right opportunity, the English- 
man plunged his poisoned dagger deep into the tiger's 
heart, and the latter fell wiLliuut a sound. When re- 
monstrated with for waiting so long in such a danger- 
ous embrace, he calmly replied : " I wanted to be sure 
that his head was exactly the right size before killing 
such a superb specimen, and having satished myself on 
this point, I waited a moment to strike home without 
injuring the part I was after ! " 





1 



CHAPTER XII. 

A LETTER FROM THE NIGER. 

OTHING was too good for iis in the eyes of 
the priest, who felt that he owed us much for 
the defence of his religious authority, and he 
set his parishioners the example by placing everything 
he owned at our disposal. Rice, tobacco, tea, and spices 
were offered us ad libztmn, and every house seemed to 
wish the honor of lodging us. 

Declinino; what we could witliout hurtins: their feel- 
ings, we lived partly on these delicacies, and partly on 
our own good stores, and continued on our way farther 
inland; for my hunting passion — like the tiger's thirst 
for blood — had been whetted by the night's adventure, 
and I longed for another sight of this terrible wild beast. 
Before night I reached the home of a powerful rajah 
whom I had before visited, and whose hospitality I had 
been able, in slight way, to repay. He welcomed me 
with the pomp of an Oriental reception. An army of 
servants was immediately placed at my orders, and a 
state hunt appointed for the next day. These gala cere- 
monies are always offered to strangers whom the Indians 
wish to honor, however short their visit mav be. 



A LETTER FROM THE NIGER. 251 

At break of day we set out in an imposing array. 
Twelve elephants, brilliantly trapped, bore the rajah, 
the principal officers of his suite, and your humble ser- 




A GUEPARD, OR HUNTING TIGER. 



vant, lying, like the Romans at their feasts, on our 
backs, under the howdahs. Beside us lay several good 
rifles, and behind each of us, his eyes bandaged, a 



252 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

guepard, or hunting tiger. This curious animal, half- 
tiger, half-leopard, is famous for his extraordinary eye- 
sight, his speed in running, and his pourage in attack. 
At the same time he is a thoroughly good-natured 
and submissive companion, and makes a capital hunter 
besides. 

There were some hundred men in the party, besides 
porters, servants, and cooks, and we journeyed by short 
stages in really royal style. No one ever complains of 
the sleepy slowness of an elephant's gait. You enjoy 
the scenery, you are rocked by his gentle movement 
into the happiest frame of mind, and you '' get there." 

After three days of this ideal travelling, one of our 
advance couriers came in to say that a tiger was re- 
ported in the neighborhood of one of the near villages, 
and we all prepared for an exciting day. I had my 
rifles cleaned and my ammunition and knives inspected, 
and resolved to give a good account of myself. We 
found that the tiger carried off daily a IduU from the 
fields, and escaped with it into a densely grown marsh 
a few miles away. Hardly had we reached the locality 
before the guepards gave unequivocal signs that they 
detected the presence of our game. Armed with spears, 
the men began to beat the bushes, much as if they 
were simply after hares. Still, as they did not seem 
to mind the danger, I could not see why I should worry 
about them, though I sat ready witli gun in rest on my 
elephant's back. 



A LETTER FROM THE NIGER. 



253 



The plan was successful ; for two enormous tigers, 
as large as the one I had "enchanted," bounded out of 
the high underbrush like young cats. Our men's cries 
and the general hubbub confused them and made them 
lose their heads, and they ran back and forth without 
any plan or method. Suddenly one of them sprang at 
my elephant, full in the face, as is their favorite method 
of attack. Before I could come to the rescue with my 
rifle, the no- 
ble beast had 
calmly torn the 
brute from its 
hold, h u rl e d 
it upon the 
ground, and 
placed his pon- 
derous fore- 
feet, one on its 
flanks and one 
on its head ! I felt a violent jerk and shock, and heard 
the cracking of bones like the sound of a tree broken by 
the force of the tempest ; and I saw the beast flattened 
under the weight of the massive pachyderm. The lat- 
ter, proud of his deed, never lost his dignity or temper 
for an instant, and I showered caresses and sugar upon 
him in reward for his prompt courage. Meanwhile the 
other tiger had not remained inactive. He had suc- 
ceeded in bringing down a young elephant, on which 




THEIE, FAVORITE METHOD OF ATTACK. 



254 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

was mounted a son of the rajah, now on his first hunt ; 
the latter, however, had the good sense to desert his 
mount, and leave the poor thing to its fate. 

Immediately we all let loose our guepards, which fell 
upon the prey with their sharp teeth and indomitable 
courage. The fight became general ; the wounded tiger 
held its own against the numerous foe, putting several 
hors du comhat, laying them open with its fearful claws, 
or meeting its fangs in their throats. The struggle was 
intense, and the rajah's enjoyment of it was too, for he 
would not let me end it with a shot from my good rifle. 
After some minutes of this kind of thing he gave his 
men a signal, and they surrounded the combatants and 
with their spears put an end to the tiger, and drew off 
the limping guepards. 

On my return I found the following letter from an old 
hunting companion in Africa : — 

My dear Friend, — There are days when I envy you 
your lot. In the immense plains of the Ganges you meet 
only enemies that attack openly, and from whom you 
fear no surprise ; but here everything is different. As you 
know, we have to fight and watch constantly ; and it is 
not the natives that annoy us the most, for a few shots 
will drive them away. In fact, on the banks of the Niger 
all is not roses. In the first place, there is the terrible 
fever which you draw in at every breath, and to which the 
strongest man succumbs in two days. You have had a 



A LETTER FROM THE NIGER. 255 

touch of it yourself, and will remember. There is besides 
another foe — the leopard — witli which the country is 
infested ; and knowing your fondness for hunting adven- 
tures, I will write you of this traitorous enemy, whom 
you have met so often. 

I started on an expedition last October, as I wrote you, 
taking . a thousand men,, infantry and marines, from 
several regiments stationed at St. Louis. Some native 
tribes encamped between the Senegal and the Niger were 
to be vigorously punished for having intercepted supplies 
and insulted explorers of the upper Niger. 

This delicate mission was confided to me, and I was not 
sorry to get into active warfare again. We marched by 
easy stages, carrying a month's provisions. One hundred 
of my men had charge of a herd of cattle and sheep 
which we took with us, and from which, each day, we 
obtained our fresh meat. The very first day out, the 
adjutant commanding this important four-footed division 
came to me, pulling his mustache in consternation, to say 
that ten head of sheep had disappeared, and that he could 
not, for the life of him, tell where or how. The guard 
had been posted and relieved as usual, and the men were 
as much annoyed as their officer. I was puzzled over 
this and subsequent daily thefts from our live-stock, both 
cattle and sheep, by the dozen, and began to fear that 
the crafty natives were following us and taking advantage 
of the darkness and their knowledge of the forest to steal 
our supplies ; and I resolved to surround our stock-yard 



256 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

with an added number of guards. They had orders to 
close in as soon as they saw the mysterious thief and 
surround him. About midnight I was aroused by the 
lieutenant calling into ray tent, " It is a leopard ; shall 
we fire ?" Hardly taking time to dress, I seized my rifle 
and hurried out after him, to convince my rather sceptical 
mind of his information. It was light enough to read, 
and a superb moonlight night. We found the sentinels 
at their posts, the cattle sleeping, and everything quiet ! 
I laughed at the lieutenant and his false alarm, which 
made leopards out of shadows. 

" No," said he, "• I saw the leopards as clearly as I see 
you. They run at the least noise, never wishing to risk 
their spotted hides if they can help it ; and I knoiv I was 
not mistaken." 

I felt sure the young man was at fault, but turned back 
to my tent, simply cautioning him to keep on the alert 
and report any further alarm at once. Just as I reached 
my canvas home, an enormous body fell, without the least 
warning, from the thick foliage above it, landing a few 
feet away from me. It was a leopard ; and had it fallen 
upon me, I should not now be describing the fact to you, 
for he would have crushed me as flat as a pancake. I 
called for help, and at the same time discharged my rifle, 
aiming for his glowing eyes. The shot told, and he rolled 
over dead. Several shots followed immediately from the 
sentinels, and the whole camp ran out to see what was 
up. In a moment we were on the field of action. A 



A LETTER FROM THE NIGER. 259 

dozen leopards, that had lain m ambush behind tree 
trunks and branches like sharpshooters, had instinctively 
betrayed themselves at the noise of shooting, and had 
taken flight at hazard among the guards. When we 
arrived the excitement was at its heiglit. The leopards, 
wounded, and held in a circle of gun-barrels that they 
could not break, were using all their agility to get throuo-h 
our lines. Several sprang upon our soldiers and tried to 
strangle them. One corporal was completely laid open, 
and we had the greatest difficulty in saving him from 
his furious foe in this mangled condition. Two other 
men saved themselves at close quarters by using their 
revolvers, and one his sabre ; and my tent is now softly 
carpeted with seven magnificent leopard skins, the results 
of the fray. 

My friend's letter reached me at an unfortunate time 
for reply ; and I had arrived at Java — that country so rich 
in archseological remains and animal life — before I could 
give' it the attention it deserved. After matters of merely 
personal interest, I described to him, in return for his 
stories, an example of the curious veneration for some 
animals felt by the superstitious islanders. 

" The Prince of Djokjokarta, a kind of Javan sultan, 
loved to surround himself with extravagant pomp. One 
day he started from his palace to visit his subjects, accom- 
panied by a superb escort all robed in white. He was 
carried upon a magnificent dais, covered with gold and 



260 



HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 



precious stones. Four slaves waved perfumed fans of 
ostrich feathers above his head, while others watched 
his slightest beck and nod ; and before and behind him 



SJ^':^-^'^W'^^^. 




BEFORE AND BEHIND HIM MARCHED AN INNUMERABLE TRAIN. 

marched warriors, guides, and hunters, — an innumerable 
train. The first night, as they were travelling through 
the forest, they heard a dreadful noise above their heads 
in the foliage of a large tree. It sounded like a panther ; 



A LETTER FROM THE NIGER. 261 

and they immediately formed a hollow square around 
their sovereign to protect him from the dangerous beast, 
while a noted hunter, named The Sun, advanced a few" 
steps to see what threatened them. His long lance with 
its silken and golden handle was beside him, and he was 
ready, if necessary, to die for his king. Suddenly disorder 
ran through the ranks ; the torches were unexpectedly 
extinguished ; every one cried out and gesticulated, and 
fell upon the supposed enemy, and wounded one another, 
until a terrible shriek pierced the night, followed by 
intense silence. Then The Sun relit his torch, and was 
horrified to find, in a pool of blood, a sacred monkey, 
dead and stiff ; and a laugh went up from all the 
frightened men, but the Prince sat silent and grave. 

" ' Who has killed this inoffensive animal ? ' thundered 
he. 

" ' It is I, great Prince ; I pierced him with my lance, 
to protect you from danger.' 

'^ ' Who authorized you to shed blood ? ' 

" The Sun hung his head in silence ; and at a sign from 
the despot, he was seized by the soldiers, and chained to 
a cart that followed the procession. He knew that death 
was the invariable penalty for wounding one of these 
venerated animals, and although he was a great favorite 
of the sultan, he could hope for no mercy. 

"^When the journey was ended he was called before his 
master, who said, — 

"'li I give you your liberty, what will you do with it?' 



262 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

" And the abject Sun replied, — 

" ' Light of the Day, I will devote it to adoring you.' 

" Now the next day was one of fete, and, to add to 
its festivities, the judges of the people decided that The 
Sun should undergo the proof from the black panther, 
and if he got out of the unequal contest alive, he should 
be reinstated in his honors as guiltless. 

" The Prince approved this judgment, feeling confident 
in his favorite minister's courage and strength, and left 
the choice of arms to him. He selected the short Ceylon 
poniard and a bit of wood shaped like a dumb-bell. 

'"• Toward the end of the day, when its heat was some- 
what spent, the amusements began in the court-yard of 
the palace. A light tent was drawn over it, and from 
the cornices hung marvellous stuffs from Eastern looms. 
The Prince made his entry on a tremendous elephant, lost 
beneath a pile of sumptuous trappings, and surrounded 
by all the court dignitaries, with their servants and 
bearers. When the Prince dismounted they threw them- 
selves down upon the ground, and he walked upon their 
prostrate forms to his seat, whence he viewed the mar- 
vellous dancing of his nautcli girls. 

" After the sensuous, the cruel. Two men, their heads 
covered with turbans, and wearing masks with eyeholes, 
appeared, each with a long rod. They drew near, and 
after crossing rods like fencers, began to lash one another 
in rhythmical time, as if they were hainmering iron. Un- 
der each swishing blow the flesh writhed and the blood 



A LETTER FROM THE NIGER. 265 

spurted. It was a horrible sight, brought to an end when 
one of the contestants acknowledged he could stand no 
more. It was im]_)ossible to tell by appearance which the 
victor was, so sore and scarred were they both. 

"Finally a cage was dragged out, in which was a 
magnificent black panther, as large as a tiger. He 
seemed timid before so many people and such bright 
lights, and had to be urged out from behind his bars 
with a goad, and even then t(jok refuge behind a post, 
where the buffalo, let loose to fight him, attacked him 
furiously. It was evident at once which would be the 
victor. The buffalo went like a shot from a rifle, burn- 
ing his horns in the flanks of the panther, and crush- 
ing him against the palisades, goring him through and 
through. He uttered but one cry, and was dead. 

"• The Prince ordered another panther freed. It was a 
female, smaller and fiercer than the first, that came run- 
ning in, like a cat in haste. Her eyes glowed viciously, 
and instead of waiting an attack, she sprang at a bound 
above his head, and fastened her cruel teeth and claws 
deep in the back of his neck. The bull made a thousand 
turns to free himself of this foe that was sapping his very 
life. He rubbed against the palisade, he rolled over and 
over upon the ground, he sprang clumsily into the air ; 
but the panther stuck as if riveted to him. At last the 
great animal succumbed, sinking in his own blood, in 
which the ferocious panther positively revelled, wallow- 
ing in gore, and tearing her prey in pieces. Indeed, so 



266 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

reluctant was she to let go that she was dragged the 
length of the arena by the attendants as they removed 
the remains, and was safely locked up with them in her 
cage again. 

''■ Now the time was come for the proof of The Sun, 
who entered with the simple arms he had chosen, and 
placed himself facing his king, whom he saluted. One 
could not help admiring his coolness, as he stood with 
folded arms awaiting the test ; the panther was loosed 
from the opening at the opposite end of the arena, liis 
hair on end, his back creasing like a cat's, ready for a 
leap, his tongue protruding between his gleaming teeth. 
Suddenly he drew himself together, and unbent like a 
spring, bounding in a graceful curve upon his prey. The 
shock must have been frightful, but it did not overthrow 
the man, nor did he lose his presence of mind. With his 
left hand he forced the wooden block between the angry 
jaws, which closed upon it, and with his right he buried 
his poniard in the beast's shoulder. The latter fell in a 
limp heap, tearing The Sun's knee with his claw as he 
fell. This was his only wound ; and he had strength to 
reach his despot's throne, and be received back into favor 
by this easily convinced monarch. For my own part, I 
prefer to trust to the average jury ! " 



CHAPTER XIII. 

ANOTHEK OF THE CAT FAMILY. 




WAS fishing when Thursday, his hair standing 
on end and his eyes like the setting sun, came 
running toward me. He was breathless and 
speechless. 

" Have you seen the ghost of your ancestor ? " 
He shook his head, but still could not speak. Evidently 
something serious was the matter. All he could do was 
to point to a little island left in the stream by the falling 
waters, but about which I could see nothing extraordinary. 
When I startled to move in that direction, the one from 
which he had just come, he grasped me firmly, and 
nothing could shake him ofi'. '' Let me go, coward ! " 
said I ; ''or at least let us climb into this tree, where 
we can see something besides these everlasting marshes." 
The idea seemed to strike him, for in a twinkling he was 
in the lower branches of the tree, where I rejoined him, 
and where a curious sight greeted me. A jaguar, the 
fiercest of the cat family, was a few yards away peace- 
fully engaged in fishing. I could hardly believe my eyes. 
But there he crouched, — an enormous specimen fully six 
feet long besides his tail, that would measure a yard more, 



268 



HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 



watching with his piercing eye the water below him. He 
was absolutely motionless, and you would have thought 
him stuffed ; but his jaws rested almost on the surface of 




TUE JAGUAR PEACEFULLY ENGAGED IN FISHING. 



the stream, and upon its waters there fell noiselessly the 
saliva, to which the fish will rise as to a bait, whereupon 
he struck them on to the beach with a sure aim that 



ANOTHER OF THE CAT FAMILY. 269 

never failed to land his game. In an hour 1 saw him 
catch fifty of different sizes, with the same instinct and 
pleasure that a house-cat catches the gold-fish. 

Suddenly the scene changed. The avenger of the in- 
nocents appeared in the shape of a number of crocodiles. 
In an instant twenty open jaws rose from the surface of 
the water and moved toward the jaguar, who retreated 
slowly into the brake, followed by the crocodiles. Upon 
the leader, who was a monster, the jaguar pounced, tooth 
and nail, and tried to sink his fangs into the unyielding 
armor of his hide, while the crocodile wound his snake- 
like body around the foe, and strained every muscle to 
strangle him. Never did I see a finer wrestling bout; 
and the jaguar was getting the best of it, when the croco- 
dile's friends came to the rescue, like dogs upon a quarry. 
Soon a dozen lay dead, all killed in the same way, — their 
throats cut clear across with a jagged tear, through which 
the blood poured and their breath escaped in uneven gasps 
like puffs from a bellows. The jaguar limped, and could 
hardly stand ; for the terrible amphibians had crushed his 
haunches, breaking the bones and dislocating the joints. 
He killed now simply for the pleasure of killing. The 
sight and smell of blood intoxicated him, and when the 
few remaining crocodiles, wounded and terror-struck, un- 
dertook to escape into the stream again, he assumed the 
offensive and barred their retreat. With a few blows 
from his claws he added them to the slain, and remained 
victor on the field of battle. But his triumph was short. 



270 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

Even while he was slaking his fever in long draughts 
from the yellow stream, his bloody jaw dropped, his eyes 
lost their light, and he rolled over dead, in the very spot 
where I had watched him fishing at first. 

I took pleasure in making the cowardly native take 
off his magnificent skin, which decorates my study floor 
as I write. 

It was the beginning of the rainy season. Twenty 
servants accompanied me, carrying provisions, arms, and 
ammunition ; and my hunting-fever being on me, I was 
resolved to see more of this interesting and beautiful 
animal, the jaguar. 

The forest proved to be of an almost impenetrable 
luxuriance, and the problem seemed to me to reach any 
game, even when we knew they were near. I almost 
resolved to try our old plan in Ceylon, where the same 
conditions prevail, — of setting fire to the woods on three 
sides of a square and stationing the hunters on the 
fourth. 

The native ingenuity overcame this difficulty when the 
time came, — namely, the second afternoon after we had 
gone into camp. The peculiar cry of a jaguar was heard 
at some distance in the forest, and immediately my head 
guide detailed a native to perform the feat of drawing 
him toward us. This fellow, naked save the cloth around 
his middle, climbed a tall tree near us, like a squirrel. 
From this height, seated astride a branch, he began to 
imitate the calls and sobs of a young monkey in distress. 



ANOTHER OF THE CAT FAMILY. 273 

He did this perfectly, but so loud did it sound in the now 
silent forest — for the jaguar's cry had ceased instantly — 
that I could not help fearing he had scared away the 
prize. 

''Do not believe it," said Thursday. "These fellows 
know what they are about, and you will see the brute 
drop upon our friend in a few minutes, like a stroke of 
lightning." 

"But the poor fellow has no arms. Pie will be killed." 

Thursday shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, as if 
"who cares?" 

Hardly had he finished when the native uttered a 
piercing shriek, and a terrible hand-to-hand struggle 
began in the tree-top. The jaguar had approached 
silently, by light l)ounds from branch to branch, and 
when within reach made one last one upon the sup- 
posed monkey. Great confusion reigned. The natives 
rushed frantically round the base of the tree, trying to 
lasso the beast, when they caught sight of his spotted 
hide through the leaves. Finally one more skilful than 
the rest caught his noose around the hind quarters of 
the jaguar, and brought him down limb by limb, but 
directly upon himself. We could not get a shot with- 
out killing the man ; and his friends, whose lassos would 
have done good service, fled incontinently and left him 
to his fate. The jaguar, fortunately, was well held, and 
every frantic bound he made to free himself tightened 
the noose and slowly strangled him. Watching our 

18 



274 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

opportunity, in one of these leaps, Thursday and I gave 
him each our quota of cold lead, and he fell dead beside 
the native. 

I supposed the latter, too, was killed, of course ; but 
not at. all. His shoulder was laid open, but not badly, 
and after a few days he was round with the rest, 
against whom he seemed to harbor no ill-will for their 
cowardliness. 

A great American hunter, whose books are famous, 
told me that the jaguar is harmless enough until he 
sees or tastes blood. Then nothina; will control him : 
he is mad for more, and simply kills blindly to satisfy 
this passion. He told me, that returning one day from 
the fields he had found three negroes lying in their blood, 
and a pet jaguar, that had always seemed perfectly sub- 
missive and friendly, hidden behind some bags, ashamed 
of the fury that a sudden sight of flowing blood had 
occasioned in him. He looked for all the world like 
a dog that expected a thrashing for some fault. 

"We have a wild-cat," said he, "beside which the jaguar 
is a lamb. I was travelling once among the Indians of 
South America, and came to a little village of a friendly 
tribe, where my party was most hospitably received. 
The best hut in the village and the best food and 
drink were given us with a grace civilization does 
not know. When we awoke in the morning; the villasie 
was in an uproar, and all our friends bore signs of the 
liveliest distress on their faces. We found a great mis- 



ANOTHER OF THE CAT FAMILY. 275 

fortune had fallen upon them. Part of their wealth had 
been annihilated. The meadow where they pastured 
their sheep had been visited by a wild-cat, a hundred 




THREE NEGROES LYING IN THEIR BLOOD. 

sheep left dead upon the plain, and the rest frightened 
away into the woods, where it was very difficult to find 
them. 



276 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

" The Indians, true to their nature, swore revenge, and 
I remained a few days to see how they would accomplish 
it. The mighty hunters of the tribe arrayed themselves 
in sacks, in skins, and in coverings of leaves and moss, 
and lay in wait in the meadow among the dead sheep, 
and the squaws covered them over so completely they 
could hardly breathe, during the thirty hours they had 
to remain in hiding. All this time, of course, they were 
without food. But the second day, toward noon, the 
cat appeared ; and we, in the huts, watched with eager 
eyes his stealthy advance from bush to bush. As soon 
as he reached the pasture he stopped, sniffing the air 
and glancing in every direction to see if he was observed. 
To make more sure he climbed a tree, and sat there 
watching several minutes. Seeing nothing he sprang at 
a bound to the earth to resume his gorge. Immediately 
the Indians were up, and twenty arrows laid the thief 
low. He fell without a cry, and the hunters began a 
mad dance around his body, while the shouts and songs 
of the children and squaws showed the joy felt in the 
success of the ruse. The village divided the meat, which 
is too rank and gamey for me, and, with a little rum 
from my stores, made a wild night of it." 

Seeing my interest in his stories, the American offered 
to tell me some curious adventures with bears, and dur- 
ing the next few days he amused me with those you 
will find in the next chapter. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
AN American's adventures. 




WAS hunting in the mountains, rather aim- 
lessly it must be confessed, when I ran across 
an old she-bear, bearing in her jaws a lot of 
roots and vegetables, as if returning from market. I 
followed her, for the bear seldom, if ever, attacks, unless 
outrageously provoked, and I was curious to see the 
family to which she was evidently taking this food. In 
a crevice in the rocks, near the top of a ledge, lay five — 
instead of the traditional three — cubs, and looking down 
upon them I saw her divide the delicacies with maternal 
impartiality among her tumbling offspring. She treated 
* them in the most affectionate and caressino; manner, and 
they answered her in like fashion, presenting a most 
charming family picture. Several days later I returned, 
to find the young scamps playing round the base of the 
cliff and the old lady away. They were like young dogs 
in feature and gentleness, but their color was a tawny 
yellow, relieved with a white necklace. They were ap- 
parently about two months old, and I resolved to kidnap 
two for domestication. I selected two at hap-hazard, and 
seizing them by the nape of the neck, dropped them into 



280 



HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 



a bag I had brought for the purpose, and carried them 
off to my camp. Later m the day I returned to see how 
the family fared without two of its members, and I was 




THE BEAR IN CAPTIVITY. 



horror-struck at the sight I saw. I was about to enter 
the crevice, to find, as I supposed, the sleeping cubs, 
when I perceived a huge animal at the back of the cave 



AN AMERICAN'S ADVENTURES. 281 

eating its poor young 1 — eating with a gusto and drinking 
tlie warm blood greedily. I drew back and pushed a 
large stone against the entrance, and lighting my bag, 
which was, of course, hemp, and burned readily, I tossed 
it into the bed of dried ferns and leaves behind my im- 
provised prison-bar. The dry stuff caught instantly, and 
the smoke and flame poured out of the cracks, while the 
unnatural father made frantic efforts to escape from the 
fiery furnace to which I had, without recourse, condemned 
him, and in which 1 had the satisfaction to see his bad 
deeds punished. 

"When the unhappy mother returned, she wandered 
inconsolably over the country for a week and then dis- 
appeared. Soon after, I was in a neighboring town visit- 
ing a clergyman whose parsonage overlooked the parish 
burying-ground. He told me — with real apprehension, 
too-— that ghosts had recently disturbed his household's 
quiet, and that it was all he could do to keep his super- 
stitious servant from leaving him alone upon his haunted 
hearth. I interrogated Gertrude, and found that upon a 
tomb erected to one who had died without the sacrament, 
' like a dog,' on two successive nights she had seen a 
ghost, nodding and prostrating himself in real ghostly 
fashion. I don't believe much myself in that kind of 
nonsense ; and I resolved to watch with servant and 
master the next night, when, sure enough, the perform- 
ance was repeated ; but to my sceptical eyes, even at the 
distance of our window from the grave-yard, by a very 



282 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

earthly animal walking upon four legs. I could never 
have convinced either of them of this had not the servant 
come running in the next day at dinner-time to say that 
a bear was in the garden eating sweets stolen from my 
host's beehives, and on my pursuing him, broom in hand, 
had he not retreated through the fence into the grave- 
yard. It immediately occurred to me that this was our 
unhappy ghost, and I resolved to see if the death of 
the former would not relieve us of the presence of the 
latter. 

" The priest readily consented, and I proceeded to lay 
my plans, after which I retired behind a garden-house 
and awaited developments. As I had . expected, the bear 
returned after a few hours to finish his interrupted feast, 
glancing around suspiciously and advancing with the 
greatest caution, watching the windows of the parsonage 
and starting like a guilty thief at every noise. When 
he reached the scattered sweets he began to make away 
with them most gluttonously, at every gulp showing an 
increased pleasure in his feast and an added gayety of 
demeanor. After the last bit had disappeared he began 
a series of clumsy gambols like a dance, ending in his 
falling on his back with his legs in the air and his eyes 
closed in contentment — or sleep. Slipping from my 
hiding-place, I crept cautiously up and buried a knife 
deep in his shoulder where I knew it would do the most 
good. He never stirred. The parson was greatly sur- 
prised at my success, until I confessed that a quart of 




SEIZING TWO BY THE NAPE OF THE NECK, I DROPPED THEM INTO A BAG. 



AN AMERICAN'S ADVENTURES. 



285 



good alcohol was really responsible for the ease with 
which Bruin had dropped asleep, and that it was an 
added argument against the use of stimulants I 




KATING STOLEN SWEETS FKOM MY HOST S BEEHIVES. 



" ' And now, my dear fellow,' said I, ' we will sup from 
broiled bear's feet, if Gertrude is as skilful a cook as I 
take her to be.' 



286 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

'■'• Gertrude distinguished herself, and prepared them to 
perfection ; but she would not eat of them herself, because 
there was something human about their appearance ; and 
although I told many stories of the brute's cruelty and 
very inhuman ways, nothing would alter her resolution, 
and we finished them easily without her ! 

" There is nothing more interesting or curious than the 
bear's life, — alone, in hiding among the rocks and deep 
in the lonely forests ; and between him and the orang- 
outang there is a strong resemblance in instincts and 
intelligence. One of the most cruel varieties of bear is 
the w^iite one found in Norway and Siberia, where, among 
the superstitious, lie is credited with almost divine char- 
acteristics, and even his lonely way of life is considered 
a sign of profound wisdom. They bring him their crimi- 
nals for judgment ; and if the latter are uneaten after 
striking him on the nose, they are pronounced guiltless ! 
The Siberians have a queer w^ay of hunting the bear. 
One day I had landed at a small town, and found the 
people in a wild state of excitement. A bear had come 
from the neighboring woods and carried off a woman 
to his fortress, and, by chance, had selected the prettiest 
girl in the village and a recent Ijride. I advised an imme- 
diate pursuit of the ravisher, and headed a small party 
which, wdth the aid of dogs, was soon on his track. We 
had provisions for several days, and the hunters were 
all armed with small-bore guns and long knives at their 
belts, and their courage aroused for any emergency, far 



AN AMERICAN'S ADVENTURES. 289 

beyond its usually very gentle pitch. They felt like the 
avenging Greeks, and that their honor as fathers and 
husbands was at stake. We beat all the bushes, hunted 
all the caves, and scaled all the ledges, without stirring 
a mouse. The dogs trotted along in front with their 
ears down, as if no game were within a hundred miles ; 
and the relatives of the stolen girl had begun to calculate 
how nearly their relative could, by that time, have been 
eaten, when one of our scouts ran in to say he had seen 
the bear. Under his guidance we soon reached the spot, 
and the dogs were let loose upon him without further 
delay. He stood upon his hind legs, and dropped heavily 
upon the dogs when they came within his reach, crush- 
ing and strangling several. But one or two caught him 
by the throat and stomach, and were only shaken off 
after they had drawn blood in no stinted streams. 

" The bear uttered angry growls and advanced slowly 
upon us. Meanwdiile the natives had set up crotches in 
the ground on which to rest their light guns, in which 
I took little stock, and were preparing to open fire on 
him when I interfered. My own heavier arm was loaded 
with ball, and, after waiting till he had come within 
modest range, I aimed over a crotch and fired, killing 
him instantl}'. The dogs rushed upon him, and we had 
to beat them oft" with our guns in order to get the body, 
which was carried in state to the village, and a regular 
feast inaugurated. The husband of the lost girl insisted 
on an immediate autopsy ; but not a particle of his better 

19 



290 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

half could be found in Brum's stomach, and he had to 
console himself with the skin, which was voted him by 
popular consent. 

" We had hardly reached the village when the missing 
girl, her hair flying and garments torn, rushed in as if 
followed by his Satanic Majesty himself. It seems the 
bear had treated her most gallantly, giving her food in 
his mountain fastness, and watching her with the 
greatest apparent admiration and without offering her 
the least violence. In the morning, when the bear 
started on a foraging expedition, she escaped over the 
barriers he had left at the entrance to his den ; and 
while we had been interviewing him,. she had made the 
best of her way back to the village, running all the 
way. 

" I had another bear adventure," continued my friend, 
" which resulted in the capture, alive, of a very large 
specimen. He had taken refuge in a hole beneath the 
roots of a mighty tree, where it was impossible to get 
at him unless we should dig him out like a rat ; so I 
arranged nooses around the opening and placed my men 
at some distance from the tree, each holding an end of 
rope. When Bruin put out his head to see if the coast 
were clear, we drew our nooses tight around his neck 
and held him helpless. We took him into the town and, 
finally, on board the vessel, where he became thoroughly 
at home and a prime favorite of all the men, especially 
the cook, in whose quarters he was usually to be found, 



AN AMERICAN'S ADVENTURES. 



291 



warming himself lazily before the fire, and superintending 
solemnly the culinary proceedings. 

" We landed in Norway to coal ; and the bear, whom 




HIS HEAD WAGGING ABOVE THEM WITH REAL ELOQUENCE. 



the men had named Romeo, followed his friend on shore 
and accompanied him on his various marketing errands, 
to the terror of all the orderly natives. He even went 



292 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

SO far as to follow him into a church during divine ser- 
vice, where fifty good people were performing their daily 
devotions. Turning suddenly, the cook was horrified to 
find Romeo no longer visible ! Where could he have 
gone ? A moment before he had been close on his master's 
heels, and now he was not to be found. Within a few 
moments, however, he reappeared, but in a most unlooked- 
for spot, — his great paws on the edge of the pulpit, 
and his head wagging above them with real eloquence ! 
There was an immediate stampede among the congrega- 
tion ; and every man, w^oman, and child made headlong 
for the doors, without standing on the order of their 
going. This incident created a great scandal ; and we 
Avere compelled to go elsewhere to refit, where we did 
not allow Romeo to go ashore, fearing some new es- 
capade. Arriving home, the cook begged to be taken 
into my service permanently, so great had his attachment 
grown to the bear, and I readily consented. 

" Romeo and my children soon became fast friends ; 
and though my neighbors laughingly spoke of our 
house as ' the bear pit,' we did not greatly mind, but 
were proud of our distinguished-looking nurse ! He 
would go silently down the hall in the morning to the 
nursery, and awake his little charges, and, when they 
were dressed, ask nothing better than to play with 
them by the hour, or walk beside them when they 
took their exercise ; and I always noticed that nothing 
was inclined to molest such a well-guarded party ! 



AN AMERICAN'S ADVENTURES. 295 

" One cold winter night, a poor little child very insuffi- 
ciently clad, and barefoot, came to our door to ask for 
alms. He was a bright, fearless little fellow, and be- 
tween Romeo and himself it was a case of love at first 
sight. We gave the lad something to eat, and as soon 
as his hunger was satisfied, Romeo took him bodily, 
and carried him oft' to his own quarters, where he took 
him between his warm haunches and pillowed him on 
the soft fur of his breast. For many days this was the 
lad's regular couch, and he was always sure of a wel- 
come and a share of whatever was best in Romeo's 
larder. 

" By the way, I remember very well the first time I 
hunted a bear, and it may amuse you to hear it." 

I assured him that it would, and he continued : — ■ 

" It was in the Tyrol ; and I had been reading, as boys 
will, most exciting books of hunting adventures, until 
my imagination was filled with them, and I resolved 
to imitate my heroes forthwith. I had a light double- 
barrelled shotgun, and armed with it, I set out one bright 
morning early, in search of hetws. After walking sev- 
eral hours without seeing anything in the way of game 
larger than a robin, T met an old man, bent and worn, 
going toward the village. On seeing my sportsman- 
like equipment he stopped to ask me in search of what 
game I had come, and on my frankly telling him, he 
laughed long and loud. 

" ' What, are there no bears now in this neiuhljorhood ? ' 



296 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

" ' Oh yes, but far from here, and liviDg among rocks 
and forests, that, alone, you could never penetrate ; and 
even if you did, with such a pop-gun you could do little 
more than tickle a bear ; ' and off he went lauu;hinQ^ to 
himself. 

" 1 must confess I felt rather crestfallen at his evident 
disrespect for my plans and arms, but I resolved to show 
him how he had misjudged both, by bringing back a bear 
to put him out of countenance. 

" With this laudable object in view, I continued my 
route for some miles, when suddenly, joy and delight ! 
I saw a veritable bear in the middle of the road, on 
his hind legs, and with a heavy stick in his fore-paws. 
I could hardly l^elieve my own good fortune, and my 
hands trembled with excitement as I raised my gun 
and aimed at his shoulder, as I had heard one should. 
Bang ! bang ! weut both barrels ; and when the smoke 
cleared away, T looked expecting to find him dead as 
a door-nail, instead of which he was merely scratching 
his back as though a mosquito had Ijitten him ; while 
I heard loud shouts of ' Murder ! don't fire, it is my 
bear!' from behind a neighboring rock, whence issued 
an irate wandering minstrel, whose sole stock in trade, 
beside his instrument, was the brute in question ! 

" I became the laughing-stock of the country, and after 
pacifying my injured friend by the payment of ample 
damages, I was glad to leave the Tyrol until the matter 
should blow over. 



AN AMERICAN'S ADVENTURES. 



297 



" In a voyage to arctic seas that I once made, we fell 
in often with the polar bear, and became familiar with 
the appearance and habits of this handsome variety. 




MY HANDS TREMBLED WITH EXCITEMENT. 



Our ship was caught in the ice off the mouth of the 
Lena, and it was impossible to get on even had we not 
been well supplied with fresh provisions. It was a real 



298 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

Switzerland of icy peaks and crystal ravines, clothed, in 
place of forests, with stalactites and stalagmites, firm as 
marble and glittering like diamonds. By aid of our con- 
veyances, half-sled and half-boat, we could travel among 
these wonders, hunting and fishing, and there was not 
a man on board but enjoyed the life, which we made as 
like that of the Esquimaux as possible. Out of three 
white bear-skins I had made myself a suit, perfectly 
impervious to wind and weather, giving me much the 
appearance of the animals from which they were taken. 
Only my eyes were visible, and even they were pro- 
tected from the cold by a veil. 

" More trying by far to a traveller than the cold is the 
darkness. Those long nights, during which all Nature 
seems dead, are so wearisome, and fill the mind with 
ennui, and the body with lassitude. 

" One day the doctor came to pay me one of the long 
visits which rendered life endurable during these hours 
of darkness. His cabin was next to mine, — for we had 
built huts and dug out caves in the ice, instead of re- 
maining on board in the discomfort caused by the angle 
at which the vessel lay, — and he suggested our tunnel- 
ling the partition of ice between, that we might have a 
covered gallery connecting our rooms. I agreed, and we 
set to work instantly, hoping to grow warm during the 
exercise. We were nearly done, and were beginning to 
congratulate ourselves on the rapidity of our work, when, 
in reply to a vigorous blow of the hatchet, we heard dis- 



V 



AN AMERICAN'S ADVENTURES. 301 

tinctly a growl very like that of a dog aroused from a 
nap. 

" • It 's a bear,' said the doctor, calmly. " If you want 
to add to your store of skins, it is a good opportunity.' 

'' ' Don't you suppose he will attack us ".' ' 

'' ' Not unless you fire a gun in his ear. He sleeps, and 
sleeps soundly, and we have but to kill him in his dreams 
in good Homeric style.' 

" ' That seems rather cowardly, but we do need skins 
and meat, so perhaps the means are justified.' 

" The bear lay rolled in a ball, and covered with a 
blanket of snow, so that it was hard to distinguish his 
outline. As a sudden noise might avvaken him, we had 
to be careful in approaching him, to do so silently ; but 
we held him sure. Standing one on either side of his 
head, at a signal we buried our axes in his skull, and 
killed him instantly, thereby obtaining a most welcome 
addition to our daily bill of fare, as well as securing 
another wrap against the cold. He was seven feet long, 
which is a size to which no brown bear attains ; and his 
size and weight were more those of a fatted ox than a 
wild animal. The color of his hair was slightly yellow, 
rather than white, and it was long, thick, and delight- 
fully soft. The men were so rejoiced at the feast of meat 
that followed this lucky find, that the}' spent all their 
time looking for polar bears, but without any success. 

" As the days began to grow longer, however, and the 
ice to break up a bit, we had better luck. One of the 



302 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

first of these days we saw, on a floating cake of ice, a 
large female and two stalwart cubs, for whom she was 
fishing, diving for the prey, and bringing it up almost 
every time to her hungry offspring. Suddenly she made 
a bolder plunge into the waves, and then began a wild 
struggle with some larger foe. We hurried forward to 
see what it could be, guided by the breaking of ice, the 
spouting of the water, and the tremendous noise which 
the contestants made. The bear bayed like a dog, and 
gnashed her teeth with rage, seeming unable to land her 
prey. All at once we caught sight of what it was, — a 
seal, — which just then threw itself bodily out of the 
water, and lifting its weight upon its tail and hind flippers, 
tried to bite the terrible fisherman. I ordered my men 
to loose a dog that had been trained to this special work, 
and off he tore like a shot. Menaced thus from behind, 
the bear turned upon this new enemy, and allowed the 
seal to slip quietly into the water and escape. The dog 
stood a few paces off', and tried by barking and constant 
movement to distract the bear's attention, and turn it 
to his advantage ; but the old lady was too quick for 
him, and moved with surprising agility for so large a 
body. Not content with this policy of defence she slowly 
advanced toward the furious dog, now grown careless of 
his own safety, and, when almost upon him, gave a heavy 
spring, and crushed him like an egg-shell beneath her 
enormous weight. We were still too far off to help the 
poor creature, and as any advance was slow over the 



AN AMERICAN'S ADVENTURES. 



303 



hummocks and across the open channels, I almost de- 
spaired of getthig a shot at the bear; when, instead of 




THE BEAR MADE A WILD LEAP UPON THE NEAREST CANOE. 



escaping as she might easily have done, she came directly 
toward us, having apparently quite forgotten the seal. 

" The polar bear is fierce and vindictive, and does not, 
I found, fly, like other bears, when hunted ; and I loaded 



304 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

my rifle quickly as the distance between us lessened, A 
wide, open channel, however, interposed between us, — too 
broad for my crazy make-shift of a boat or for a shot 
accurate enough to kill. But tlie natives with me had 
their tiny canoes, and, without so much as by-your-leave, 
launched them and paddled toward the hoped-for prize. 
They sat upon the bottom of their frail crafts, with their 
limljs stretched out under the deck, while a double-bladed 
paddle supplied the motive power. Beside each lay a 
long javelin barbed with iron. These hardy fellows 
paddled in good order toward the other side. When 
almost there, the bear made a wild leap upon the nearest 
canoe, overturning it and drowning. its occupant like a 
rat. A second Esquimau, who came to his aid, met a 
similar fate, his skull being broken by a blow from her 
formidable paw. 

"The circle of foes thus broken, the bear might again 
have escaped ; but her maternal instincts called her to 
the aid of her little ones, and turning quickly to look 
for them, she found herself face to face with two more 
enemies, and without the chance to meet and defeat them 
separately. They took advantage of this, and plied their 
spears from opposite sides, tingeing the icy waters with 
her life's blood, and killing her in sight of her little, ones. 
'The four natives left then raised the huge carcass on 
their canoes and brought it with rejoicing to the shore, 
on which we stood spectators of the cruel hunt ; for, to 
me at least, the sympathy was all with the game." 



AN AMERICAN'S ADVENTURES. 



307 



One more of my friend's stories, and then to return 
to warmer climes. 

He said t " That reminds me. I was hunting buffaloes 




MOUNTING THE SPECIMENS. 



in the Rockies, — when they were more numerous, too, 
than they are now, — and was lying in wait near a 
stream, where I hoped they would come to drink. All 



308 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

at once I became conscious of the presence of another 
hunter after the same game, — a black bear, lying along 
a huge limb that overhung the favorite pool. He lay 
there so still that I should never have noticed him, had 
not my own attention been concentrated on the same 
spot. 

" Two magnificent buffaloes strayed away from the herd 
browsing far out on the plain, and came slowly down the 
wind toward us, — I say us, for the bear and I evidently 
had the same object in view in coming there. I resolved 
to see the thing out, and, if possible, bag two birds at 
the same shot. The buffaloes waded into the pool, and 
when directly under him, and not till then, the bear 
dropped heavily down upon the male like a hawk on its 
prey. The great ruminant was utterly helpless, and his 
companion tried in vain to assist him by vigorous blows 
from his stout horns, which fell quite as frequently upon 
friend as upon foe. In spite of them both the bear hung 
firm, his claws deep buried in his victim's neck, while 
the latter charged madly up the bank, where he fell 
crushed by the weight and strangled by the embrace of 
the bear. 

'' Now was my turn, I thought ; and, while he was 
putting the finishing touches to his prospective meal, I 
sent an explosive bullet into his skull, and he fell upon 
the buffalo as dead as he." 

I found the American a delightful companion ; and his 
stories of Australia — where he had spent years — induced 




A GLIMPSE INTO THE MUSEUM. 



AN AMERICAN'S ADVENTURES;. 311 

me to make a brief visit to that interesting country, 
where the life, both animal and vegetable, is so unlike 
anything I had ever seen. 

It is needless to say Thursday accompanied me, and 
that we went well armed and fully prepared to add to my 
already extensive collection, which a skilled professional 
was mounting and arranging for me at home. In fact, 
I was able to keep a number of taxidermists continually 
employed, mounting the specimens I sent back. My barn 
had been transformed into a natural-history museum ; 
the hay intended for living quadrupeds distending the 
skins of dead ones, shot over many a field under tropic 
suns. It would have given a nervous person a sad turn 
to go into the building at night, when the moonlight 
came in floods through window and skylight, falling 
upon gorilla and orang-outang and every known variety 
of ape, arranged systematically, and flanked by tiger and 
lion, bear and giraffe, rhinoceros and hippopotamus, in 
most picturesque confusion. 

I longed to return to these treasures, but, before doing 
so, turned to this new field for one or two needed additions 
to my collection. 






CHAPTER XV. 

A QUICK TEIP THEOUGH "THE BUSH." 

HE bush" is the Australian term for the native 
jungle ; and after landing at Melbourne, and 
admiring the wonderful progress of this com- 
paratively new country and its flourishing capital, we 
took a fortnight's hard riding to reach it. At the end 
of that time I found myself installed at the hut of an 
Australian squatter, on " the run " of a hospitable friend 
whom I was to visit. 

The curious country round us, called, as I have said, 
"the bush," is a mixture of forest and underbrush, not 
at all unlike the virgin solitudes of North America or 
the jungles of India, but without the savage grandeur 
of the former, or the picturesqueness of the latter, with its 
interminable network of vines and bamboos, — the haunt 
of the tiger, the panther, the elephant, and the deadly 
serpent. But the Australian bush is varied with charm- 
ing meadows filled with bright flowers and clumps of 
lofty trees, and this variety extends uninterruptedly as 
far as your horse can carry you ; always the same prairie 
with its gigantic trees, the same flowers, the same peace- 
ful silence, broken occasionally by the harsh note of a 



A QUICK TRIP THROUGH " THE BUSH." 313 

parrot, or the cry of a cockatoo, standing on one foot 
and lifting his head to watch you pass. Everywhere 
you are met with cautions not to touch that flower to 
your lips lest it poison you ; not to break that branch 
lest a tiny thorn may pierce your skin, and you die 
in convulsions within an hour, and such like cheerful 
advice. You are surrounded, in fact, with deadly plants, 
which under a tropic sun distil the most potent poisons ; 
and it is the vegetable, rather than the animal, kingdom 
that the traveller has to fear, 

" The run " had been named by the owner, a friend 
and countryman of mine, '' Devil's Station," because of 
the savage wildness of the country covered with virgin 
forests and untracked bush, and he confided to me that 
he had never himself been entirely round his property. 
The name was appropriate on account, as well, of this 
deadly growth of plant life, suggesting to a superstitious 
mind the magic influence of evil spirits. 

The English Government has hit upon the happiest 
way to colonize this rich country, allowing to the first 
comer, without regard to " race, color, or previous con- 
dition of servitude," the right to take possession of any 
unoccupied land, — ten, twenty, fifty, or one hundred 
acres, as much as his resources will allow him to im- 
prove to advantage, — demanding in return so small a 
tax that it simply serves to establish and preserve the 
royal property in the land. The settler becomes the 
tenant of the Government, ruling over these vast pos- 



314 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

sessions as he sees fit ; the only condition imposed upon 
him being that he shall receive and entertain for three 
days any European, wounded, sick, or in want, and 
supply him with sufficient provision to reach the next 
station. Any one breaking this rule loses at once all 
the privileges of his original concession, and, although 
there are some flagrant abuses resulting from it, as a 
whole it works well, and has saved many a good fellow's 
life. 

Two days after our arrival our host arranged a kan- 
garoo hunt in our honor, in the native way, — that is, 
without guns. The night before, a dozen guides were 
despatched in different directions to ■ scour the country, 
and report on the prospect of a successful hunt. 

At dawn we were awakened by uur host, and told 
to prepare for a day's sport, as the report from the 
scouts had been favorable. The party consisted of five 
natives, my host, myself, and Thursday, and three 
travellers invited at the last moment. One of them 
brought two enormous dogs in leash, bearing the sug- 
gestive names of Strangler and Terror. We were fol- 
lowed by a wagon loaded with provisions and camping 
conveniences, enough to last us a week, if we chose to 
stay that long. As the day broke we strangers were all 
loud in our admiration of the beauty of the landscape, 
and our words fired the pride of our guides. So we went 
along well pleased \vith ourselves and one another. 

Here and there, as if dropped pell-mell, without order 



A QUICK TRIP THROUGH ''THE BUSH." 317 

or system, our host pointed out all those varieties of 
giant myrtle and pine, which are unequalled elsewhere 
in the world ; the eucalyptus, — one variety of which is 
noted for its abundant sap, the growing well of the 
traveller; and one for its height, often reaching four 
hundred feet, and rivalling its neighb(jr, the Wellinrj- 
tonia Gigantea, which grows to even greater heights. 
Hundreds of varieties of acacia studded the plain, filled 
in with Australian white lilies of sweetest perfume. 
We were passing through little clumps of fig-trees, 
whence a wax-like gum exuded ; of palukas, bearing a 
sort of manna; and of silk-trees, whose long green 
threads swept the ground like hair. 

At eleven, or so, we met another of our scouts waiting 
to advise us of the proximity of the game for which 
we were in pursuit ; and by his advice we left our 
mustangs under guard of one of the natives, and, rifle 
in hand, began threading the undergrowth, often so dense 
and low that we were obliged to advance on hands and 
knees, stopping every now and then, as the guide listened, 
his ear near the ground, for any sound of game in the 
neighborhood. After an hour of this painful advance, the 
guide told us we had reached the spot where he thought 
the kangaroos would shortly come ; and we lay as he 
placed us, each behind and, in fact, in a bush, so that 
we could not see one another, so well were we hidden. 
It was uncomfortable, but necessary. The guide then 
began the clever imitation of a magpie's note at regular 



318 



HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 



intervals ; and even I who knew he was going to do it, 
and who lay nearest him, lialf doubted it was not the 
real article. It was as good as Thursday's imitation of 







BY HIS ADVICE WE LEFT OUK MUSTANGS. 



the young elephant. Suddenly a light rustling among 
the leaves drew my eyes in another direction ; and there 
stood a magnificent kangaroo over six feet tall, looking 



/J QUICK TRIP THROUGH " THE BUSH.'' 319 

around for the source of the disturbance, which, by the 
way, ceased instantly. 

The light-footed animal approached fearlessly, now 
stopping and sitting on its haunches to eat a tuft of 
delicate greens, now dropping on all fours and running 
forward in a zigzag course as light-heartedly as a child. 
Soon, reaching the stream, it drank deep draughts from 
the waters, and, what was our astonishment ! out popped 
from one of its pouches a young one and gambolled on 
the grass beside its mother. It was a pretty sight, and 
T, for one, regretted the hostile ambush. But it was too 
late now to draw off the natives, who could not under- 
stand such a motive, and who already held their javelins 
poised for hurling. 

By courtesy, Thursday was allowed the first shot, and, 
either by luck or a skill which I was ignorant he pos- 
sessed, his spear was so well aimed that the poor beast 
fell without a sound, and almost before the fatal steel 
reached her he ran out, disregarding the cautions of our 
host to look out for the dying animal's claws, to catch 
the little one and offer it to me for adoption. I found 
it old enough to live without its mother, to whom it 
struggled feebly to return. 

Meanwhile the natives had scooped out a hole some two 
feet deep, and filling it with dead wood and large round 
pebbles from the river-bed, set fire to the pile, and soon 
had a pile of red-hot stones and glowing embers. The 
kangaroo was quickly dressed, and the best parts put 



320 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

into this improvised oven and earthed np for thirty 
minutes, when they emerged smoking and appetizing, 
and I must confess I never ate anything better — in 
Australia ! 

We passed the night in camp, and the next day re- 
turned to our indefatigable mustangs, remounted, and 
continued our inspection of the run and our search for 
further adventure. The little kangaroo steadfastly re- 
fused all food, and at the end of the second day died of 
starvation. It was an inglorious ending of a cruel sport, 
to my mind ; and I heartily wished both mother and 
young alive and free again. 

For several days we travelled through the bush, jour- 
neying slowly from one enchanted scene to another, — the 
horses' hoofs sinking into a soft green carpet, stretching 
far and wide beneath the grateful shade of the gigan- 
tic trees ; on every side fragrant flowers, yellow, red, 
purple, and white, arranged as no florist can, and in 
a profusion unequalled by any forced growth. One of 
the lilies is periodic in its perfume, as the morning-glory 
is in bloom, sending out no perfume during the night, 
but under the magnetic influence of the sun's w^armth 
emitting a most penetrating and agreeable scent, drawing 
toward it thousands of l^ees that hang upon its flowers 
for hours. Another lily, a red variety, per contra, seems 
to languish during the heat of the day, waiting the 
refreshing dews of evening to open. When twilight 
comes it arouses from its lethargy, holds up its beautiful 



A QUICK TRIP THROUGH " THE BUSH.'' 323 

head, and pours a flood of fragrant incense into the night, 
closing again at early dawn. 

The silence of the prairies oppressed us, for not a bird's 
note disturbs these solitudes ; although later we found 
that there ivere plenty of winged beauties on the conti- 
nent — but of that and the odd way in which we became 
convinced of it, later. 

We saw many kangaroos, but without harming them ; 
even the natives seeming to have been touched by the 
death of our little captive. They are timid, graceful 
animals, of great variety of size, and should only be 
killed when their excellent meat is needed. 

I passed my days adding to my herbarium and collec- 
tion of insects, and my rifle hung, a useless ornament, 
at my saddle-bow. One of these peaceful mornings, I 
was riding along with my party, when I noticed occasional 
glances of alarm cast over his shoulder by our leading 
bushman. The day had opened clear and bright, when, 
suddenly and without warning, the wind began to rise 
and blow in a most threatening way through the trees, 
bending their lofty trunks, and tearing the leaves from 
the branches. I was old enough woodsman to understand 
why the Australians looked anxious and turned their 
horses toward the denser forest, wdiere the trees would 
shelter us from the approaching cyclone. Great black 
clouds scurried across the sky, and showed us we must 
hurry to reach any shelter before the storm should break. 

"- We still have a few minutes' lee-way," said our host. 



324 



HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 



" for a cyclone is always preceded by a flight of birds es- 
caping from it, — just as we are, but with better success." 
Almost as he spoke the sound of innumerable wings was 



W: 



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I WAS URGING ON MY NAG WITH SPUR AND VOICE. 



heard, and a dense flight of birds ^^assed over our heads, 
uttering their discordant cries, as if defying the gale behind 
them. 



A QUICK TRIP THROUGH " THE BUSH" 325 

I was urging on my plucky nag with spur and voice, 
and she seemed to understand the necessity of effort, 
" devouring the ground " beneath her flying feet, while 
overhead the forked lightning lit up the inky sky. It 
was an impressive sight, its very suddenness adding to 
its grandeur. I must have resembled the phantom rider 
of the Norwegian ballads, who only appears on days when 
kings or great men die ; tearing across the country flat 
upon his fiery steed, with the black clouds of misfortune 
and death behind him. Like a cannon-ball the cyclone 
struck us, and carried my stout mare forward as irresisti- 
bly as if she had been a feather. It was impossible to 
stop or to turn aside. Forward ! was the only word ; and 
the fact that a tiny lake lay directly in front of us made 
no difference whatever to the wind god, and into the 
water we went, horse and man, in obedience to his 
mighty breath. This seemed to pacify him instantly, or 
else he had done his worst, for the wind fell as promptly 
as it had arisen, leaving me to haul myself out by an 
overhanging branch, none the worse for my bath, while 
the poor pony waded ashore at the nearest beach ; and 
together we souglit our companions, scattered far and 
wide, like dead leaves before the blast. No one had been 
hurt ; and we were congratulating ourselves upon the 
escape of the party all through our lunch hour, which we 
prolonged to several, resting our tired horses and excited 
guides, who whiled away the time telling stories of less 
fortunate parties, overtaken by these sudden tropical 



326 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

gales, and never heard from afterward. Just as we 
were starting on once more, our chief guide interrupted 
our chat and laughter by laying his finger on his lips, 
and pointing toward a tall eucalyptus near which we 
had been lunching. 

"What is it, Nagarnook?" queried our host. 

The guide moved silently round the tree, his hands 
clasped negligently behind his back, scrutinizing with 
his bead-like eyes every point of its polished bark. After 
a moment or two of this examination, he stopped and 
uttered one word : •' Opossum ! " 

" How, in the name of all that 's good, does he know ? " 
laughed I. 

A smile of conscious pride passed over the face of the 
native, who understood my tone of surprise, as with his 
finger he pointed out to me a line of tiny scratches, 
hardly visible, in the smooth bark of the giant tree. 

" Yes, but they may be old marks. What makes you 
believe them recent ? " 

" The white chief is pleased to jest with his slave." 

" No, seriously ; T see that they are opossum marks, but 
the trees are full of just such tracks all around us." 

'• Let the white chief look more closely ; " and he 
showed me in the marks lowest down on the trunk, 
grains of sand, damp still, and evidently recently left 
behind a climbing 'possum. Blowing hard upon these 
the sand still clung to the moistened track. He looked 
up, proud of his proof. 




WE PROLONGED OUR LUNCH HOUR. 



A QUICK TRIP THROUGH ^^ TEE BUSH." 329 

" AYell done ! But how can we get at him ? Let us 
see you solve that difficulty ! " 

Without waiting to be asked twice, Nagarnook seized 
his hatchet and cut a foothold in the base of the tree a 
yard up, and another a yard above that. Placing his toes 
in this improvised ladder, and with his left arm embracing 
the mighty trunk, he lifted himself, and with his right cut 
a new rest higher up, and so on until he reached the 
lower branches, where the animal's hole was. Into this 
he ran his hand, and seizing the fellow by his tail to avoid 
his sharp teeth, he swung him round his head several 
times, and brained him on his own doorstep, and then 
dropped him at our feet in triumph. It was all so neatly 
and quickly done, that we could not help a shout of ap- 
plause, as he descended in the same way he had gone up. 

The little animal was cooked for supper ; and it was 
now so late, we decided to camp where we were. The 
meat of the 'possum — which is about three times as 
large as a gray squirrel — is bitter and detestable to a 
European palate ; but the native guides thought it de- 
licious, and made a perfect feast of it. 

The night was enlivened by the cry with which this 
animal salutes its coming, and which it utters as it seeks 
its food from branch to branch in the darkness. This 
note was like a bugle-call to the natives, who quickly 
lighted pine torches, and started in pursuit with their 
boomerangs as arms, and bagged over a dozen before 
they were satisfied to turn in for the night. 



330 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

The boomerang is an arm purely Australian in inven- 
tion and use, and I have never seen it carried in any 
other country on the globe. It varies in length from 
two feet and a half to three feet, and is fashioned from 
a hard though flexible bit of wood, slightly curved in 
the middle, rounded at one end, and quite flat at the 
other. It is not so wholly unlike a Yankee axe-handle 
in shape, though in color it is almost always as much 
darker as the color of Australian woods is deeper than 
those of New England. 

When the native wishes to use his boomerang, he 
seizes it at the larger end in both hands, the convex 
side up, then whirling it rapidly round his head with 
a peculiar motion of the wrist, that gives it its terrible 
force and accuracy of return, he lets it go into the air. 
Thus hurled it travels some dozen yards, which is sim- 
ply preliminary. At the instant it touches the ground 
it rebounds several feet, and returns upon its track 
until it reaches the object against which its thrower 
intended it to strike. 

They tell a curious story of this weapon, so deadly in 
an Australian's hands. When one of the first explorers 
returned to England, and told of its marvellous accuracy 
and execution, the learned doctors at Oxford laughed at 
him, and one in particular took especial delight in pointing 
out the physical impossibility of such feats, and sneering 
at the narrator. A few months afterward this disbe- 
liever was sent by his confreres to Australia on some 




HE SWUNG HIM ROUND HIS HEAD SEVERAL TIMES. 



A QUICK TRIP THROUGH ''THE BUSH." 333 

mission connected with his profession, and had occasion 
to prove the truth of the story he had doubted. 

Placed face to face with a native chief, he asked the 
latter to exhibit his skill with the boomerang, taking 
him as his mark ; and, folding his arms, he stood smil- 
ingly awaiting the result. The chief, although some- 
what surprised, asked nothing better, and, with a hasty 
glance at the professor, hurled his weapon into the air. 
After describing several graceful curves, it came back 
swiftly toward its mark whistling viciously, and it would 
certainly have broken the doctor's sceptical skull, had 
he not prudently thrown himself flat on the ground in 
a paroxysm of terror, from which he emerged in a wiser, 
if not a happier, frame of mind. 

We should have been glad to stop this unnecessary 
slaughter of opossums ; but, as our host said, you coidd 
no more convince the natives of the cruelty they were 
needlessly inflicting, than you could induce them to alter 
their religion in favor of one in which transmigration 
should play a part. A sudden end w^as put to the sport, 
however, in an unlooked-for way, by the cries of terror 
and pain which one of the natives uttered at this mo- 
ment. We did not understand the language, but we 
caught the feeling vividly ; and the whole camp rushed 
toward the sufferer, rolling in agony beside the stream, 
his head apparently wrapped in a black turban. 

" What 's the matter with him ? " shouted one of our 
party. Without waiting to reply, the chief guide drew 



334 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

his knife, and fjiiick as thought laid the black band 
open its entire length, revealing the tortured features 
and wounded forehead of his countryman beneath. For 
it was one of the terrible reptiles of the country that 
had fallen, like a leech, upon the poor fellow, and was 
slowly sucking away his life-blood. As it dropped off 
we saw six large wounds, from which the blood flowed 
freely, on the guide's face, and a real bandage was im- 
mediately applied, and such prompt remedies adminis- 
tered as experience had taught ; for delay is death. 
After this accident naturally enough the hunt was 
brought to a sudden end, and we turned our horses 
seaward, our journey enlivened by &tories of this fright- 
ful scourge, which, fortunately, is as rare as it is terri- 
ble ; indeed, my host said that in twenty years of 
knocking round the bush, this was but the third he 
had seen. And my tempting offer of a year's supply of 
rum and tobacco to any native who would bring me 
a specimen alive, failed to produce one within the next 
two weeks, during which I remained in the country. 

The next morning as we were prejDaring to mount, 
one of the men called our attention to a swarm of 
bees, and a very large one, on a branch of mimosa, 
their legs covered with the rich pollen, and apparently 
quite forgetful of their hive. Each native immediately 
set to work making himself a tiny cage from reeds ; 
and into this, with marvellous skill, and the aid of 
some bit of bloom particularly appetizing to these 



A QUICK TRIP THROUGH " THE BUSH.'' 



337 



*' friends of flowers," as they are poetically called there, 
each tempted a few bees, and shut them in safely. 
None of the white men interfered in this dangerous 




LEAVING HIM, LIKE MAZEPPA, AT THE BEAST S MERCY. 

operation, nor did we understand its object, but watched 
with admiration while they handled these peppery little 
fellows without a sting. 

When each had captured about a dozen, the chief 



338 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

explained to our host how they proposed by these 
prisoners to discover the hive, and obtain a coveted 
supplv of honey. 

In five minutes we were all in the saddle, and, the 
Australians leading, started in the direction in which 
the first bee, when liberated, flew. As soon as we were 
distanced by this rapid guide, another was let go, and 
so on, until, at the tremendous pace we were going, I 
felt we must have travelled twenty miles, for we did 
not even draw rein when a fresh bee was freed. The 
pace was beginning to tell on one of our party, and 
afterward he confessed to me he had never ridden 
so hard in his life. To add to his sufferings, his saddle 
began to slip, and, cling as he might, it surely and 
slowly disappeared beneath his horse's belly, leaving 
him, like Mazeppa, at the beast's mercy. It was no 
laughing matter, although he did appear most supremely 
ridiculous ; for, riding as hard as we could, we could not 
catch his frightened pony, which easily led the hunt. 
Luckily for him, the animal entered into the pursuit 
with intelligence as well as zest ; and when at last 
the dead tree, groaning beneath its weight of stored 
sweets, was reached, he stopped with the rest, and 
ended his mad career as gently as he had begun it. 

Loaded with honey, we continued our way at a more 
comfortable jog, reaching our host's broad verandas in 
time to enjoy a more luxurious bed than we had seen 
for many nights. 



A QUICK TRIP THROUGH " THE BUSH.' 



339 



Before bidding farewell to my hospitable friend and 
Thursday, — whom I bequeathed to him, when I found 
the latter was willing, — I made one brief hunting trip 




I FOUND SEVERAL SMALL FISH IN HIS STOMACH. 

in another direction, which introduced me to a curious 
bat-like animal, with a description of which I may most 
appropriately close this wandering narrative, which per- 
haps resembles it, — half-bird and half-mammal. 



340 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 

I had shot a couple of foxes, and was "toting" them 
into camp, when I heard a rustling in the underbrush 
along a stream running beside the trail, and out hopped 
a frog-like bat, with the tail of a beaver ! This is the 
best way I can describe him, even after shooting and 
dissecting him. He was like an American beaver in 
other respects than his broad, flat tail ; but his throat 
and long web-footed hind legs were those of a frog ; 
while the membrane from his fore-feet to his side re- 
sembled the wings of a bat. 

Opening this curiosity carefully, I found several small 
fish in his stomach, and an old button ! — certainly a 
light breakfast ! I took the greatest pains with this 
specimen, wishing to identify it when I returned to 
America, and packed it with my most valued posses- 
sions, intrusting the package to Thursday, who insisted 
on going back to Melbourne to see me safely off. But 
I was fated never to see it again. Between the wharf, 
where I parted with the faithful fellow, and the hold 
of the vessel the package mysteriously disappeared ; and 
I have never been quite sure whether I was the victim 
of a practical joke, or whether I really was the dis- 
coverer of a new species, of which the knowledge 
perished with the lost package. 



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